Kroger Hires Longtime Walmart Employee as New Nashville Division President

The Kroger Co. has hired Sonya Hostetler as president of the Nashville division, succeeding Zane Day, who plans to retire after 45 years with the grocer. The change is effective Aug. 1.

Hostetler has spent the last 30 years with Walmart, where she was most recently vice president, regional general manager based in Dallas, Texas. She led 13 markets, 122 stores and 45,000 associates.

"We're pleased to welcome Sonya to the Kroger Family of Companies," said Mike Donnelly, Kroger's executive vice president and COO. "Sonya is a well-respected leader in the retail industry who's innovative and strategic. She will help us to continue to redefine the grocery customer experience and develop talent, accelerating our Restock Kroger vision in the Nashville market."

Hostetler has served on the boards for the Arkansas Rice Depot, a local food bank and North Texas Food Bank, as well as volunteering with the Children's Miracle Network, Race for the Cure and American Heart Association.  

Cincinnati-based Kroger operates nearly 2,800 retail food stores under various banner names, employing nearly half a million associates. The retailer landed the No. 2 spot of Progressive Grocer's 2019 Super 50 list of top grocers.