The Kroger Co. announced that Valerie Jabbar, senior vice president of Retail Divisions, retired in May after 38 years of service.
Jabbar began her career with Kroger’s Fry’s division in 1987 as a clerk and rose through a series of progressive leadership roles across multiple divisions, including district manager, vice president of Merchandising, division president of Ralphs, and group vice president of Center Store Merchandising before assuming her current role in 2021.
“Over the past 30 years, I’ve held several leadership roles, including assistant store director, category manager, Drug/GM coordinator, General Office Seasonal manager, assistant director of Drug/GM and director of Drug/GM, as well as district manager in the Fry’s Division. In 2012, I relocated to the Mid-Atlantic Division (Virginia) to serve as vice president of Merchandising before moving to the Ralphs Division (Southern California) in 2013 as vice president, Merchandising, and later division president in 2016,” says Valerie Jabbar on her LinkedIn page.
Kroger promoted Jabbar in 2018 to group vice president of Center Store Merchandising at its Cincinnati headquarters. As group vice president of Center Store Merchandising, she lead the center store teams for Grocery & Natural Foods, Adult Beverage, General Merchandise and Health & Beauty in Kroger’s 2,700 stores nationwide.
Jabbar served as an executive member of the Merchandising leadership team and influenced strategy, planning, execution, staffing, sourcing, category management and budgeting.
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“Val’s journey from store clerk to senior vice president is a testament to what’s possible at Kroger,” said Ron Sargent, Chairman of The Kroger Co. “She shaped teams, developed leaders and touched countless associates across this company for nearly four decades. We wish Val, Sam and their entire family all the best in this well-earned next chapter.”
Recognitions
Throughout her career, industry organizations have recognized Jabbar as a leader both inside and outside the grocery sector. The Shelby Report named her 2018 Women Executive of the Year, and Progressive Grocer honored her twice as a Top Woman in Grocery. She has served on the boards of the Salvation Army, WAFC and NextUp, and has been a committed executive sponsor of Kroger’s Women’s Edge and KePasa Associate Resource Groups.