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Greg Foran started organizing products in a Woolworths store in New Zealand, became an executive at Walmart China, led Walmart in the US, headed Air New Zealand, and now reaches the top of Kroger, a chain with over 2,700 stores.
Shelf stocker at 17, Greg Foran built a rare career in international retail until taking over Kroger, one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, with annual sales of US$ 147.6 billion in 2025, equivalent to about R$ 730 billion.
The most curious turn in this story is at the beginning. Before leading billion-dollar operations, Foran refused the path of college, heard his mother’s encouragement to grow within the company itself, and by the age of 20, was already a manager of a Woolworths store in New Zealand.
Greg Foran started on the shelves before reaching the helm of Kroger
Greg Foran’s appointment as Kroger’s CEO places a career that began far from large corporate offices back at the center of American retail.
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Born in New Zealand, Foran began his professional life at a young age, working as a shelf stocker at Woolworths. At 17, his routine was to organize products, deal with the store’s operations, and learn the business firsthand.
At that moment, he decided he didn’t want to go to college. According to a report by Foran on the podcast Between Two Beers, his mother supported the decision and encouraged him to seek a trainee manager position within the chain.
The advice changed his career. He got the position and, three years later, at 20 years old, was promoted to store manager, becoming one of the youngest leaders of the operation.
From Woolworths to Walmart, career scaled up in billion-dollar companies
After the first promotion, Foran held different leadership positions within Woolworths. The experience in food retail paved the way for increasingly larger roles.
In 2011, he took over the leadership of the chain in New Zealand. The following year, he sought a new international stage and assumed as president and CEO of Walmart China.
His time with the American giant expanded his exposure to enormous scale operations. Shortly after, Foran was promoted to lead Walmart in the United States, where he managed over a million employees for five years.
This period consolidated his image as a retail executive with operational experience, especially in physical stores, customer service, and large team management.
Return to New Zealand included leading Air New Zealand before returning to retail
After his time at Walmart, Foran returned to New Zealand to assume the executive directorship of Air New Zealand, the country’s main airline.
The move temporarily took the executive out of the supermarket sector, but maintained his involvement in highly complex businesses, with national operations, people management, and a strong relationship with consumers.
Now, by taking over Kroger, Foran returns to his professional origins. The new position places the executive back in food retail, the sector where he started at 17, organizing products on the shelves.
The difference is the scale. The old store routine gives way to leading a century-old company, present in thousands of units and with billion-dollar revenue.
Kroger generated US$ 147.6 billion and operates over 2,700 stores in the United States
Kroger was founded in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company started as a small grocery store and grew into one of the largest supermarket companies in the United States.
Today, the chain operates over 2,700 stores under different banners. The company also operates in various formats of food retail, supermarkets, and department stores.
In 2025, Kroger recorded **US$ 147.6 billion in sales**, a figure corresponding to approximately **R$ 730 billion**, according to the conversion presented in the agenda.
This number helps explain the weight of the appointment. Foran is not just taking over a supermarket chain, but an operation with a national presence, a large volume of employees, complex logistics, and a central role in supplying millions of consumers.
Career path stands out for combining physical store, global leadership, and food retail
Greg Foran’s story gains strength precisely because it connects two ends of the same sector. On one side, starting in an operational role, directly linked to store routine. On the other, commanding a multi-billion dollar chain in one of the world’s most competitive markets.
In retail, this practical experience usually carries weight. Supermarkets depend on price, supply, assortment, customer service, logistics, productivity, and daily execution in units.
Foran’s career path covers all these points. He started on the store floor, grew into management positions, took over international operations, and led structures with over a million employees.
Therefore, his arrival at Kroger is seen as a move to value operational experience at a time when the sector faces pressure for efficiency, intense competition, and changing consumer habits.
Appointment shows how retail still depends on daily in-store execution
Foran’s rise also shows that, even with the advancement of digital commerce, technology, and automation, food retail continues to depend on physical operations.
Supermarkets need to operate every day, with products available, stocked shelves, competitive prices, and constant service. This mechanism is precisely the environment where Foran began his career.
By taking over Kroger, the executive brings to the center of an American giant a narrative of professional growth built within retail itself.
The case is noteworthy because it combines a simple scene, that of a young person organizing products on shelves, with a billion-dollar consequence: decades later, this same professional now commands a chain with over 2,700 stores and annual revenue close to R$ 730 billion.
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