Mike Ellis, president and chief operating officer of the Kroger Co., has announced his retirement.

CINCINNATI — Mike Ellis, president and chief operating officer of the Kroger Co., has announced his retirement after 40 years with the supermarket company.

At 16 years old, Mr. Ellis began his career as a parcel clerk at Fred Meyer in 1975. He served in a series of operations and merchandising positions in stores, division management and as a corporate officer. Mr. Ellis was vice-president of Fred Meyer’s food group before becoming senior officer of Kroger in 2004. He became president of Fred Meyer in 2006, senior vice-president of retail divisions in 2012, and president and c.o.o. in 2014.

His successor will be named at a later date.

“We’re very grateful to Mike for his contributions over the past 40 years, and we wish him all the best in retirement,” said Rodney McMullen, chairman and chief executive officer of Kroger. “We have long taken a team approach to leadership and together our highly-experienced team of operators and merchandisers is focused on delivering on our aggressive growth goals.”