Kroger Names New Leaders for Central and Dillons Divisions

The Kroger Co. has two new leaders for its Central and Dillons divisions.

Pam Matthews, current president of the Central division, is retiring. Colleen Juergensen, currently president of the Dillons division, will become president of the Central division. Steve Dreher, currently VP of the Dillons division, will become president of the division.

Matthews will retire from the company, effective Feb. 2, after 40 years of service. Most recently, she's led the Central division, which has 134 stores and more than 15,000 associates, primarily throughout Indiana, southern Illinois and eastern Missouri.

"Pam's passion for our associates and the retail business has been demonstrated throughout her successful career with Kroger," said Mike Donnelly, Kroger's EVP and COO. "She has been an exceptional mentor and coach to many and will leave a legacy of caring, dedicated teams who care about each other and the customers and communities they serve."

Matthews began her career with Kroger in 1980 as a courtesy clerk in the Fred Meyer division. She held a variety of leadership roles in her 25-year career with Fred Meyer before being promoted to a director of merchandising at Kroger's corporate office in Cincinnati. In 2006, she was promoted to VP of merchandising for the Central division. Several years later, she moved to the Delta division to hold the same role and ultimately became the region's VP of operations. In 2016, she was promoted to president of the QFC division, and then became president of the Central division in 2017.

Matthews was named a Progressive Grocer Top Women in Grocery in 2010, and she received the Indiana Fever Inspirational Award, which was featured in Indianapolis –To Her Success.

"Colleen has been very successful throughout her long career with the Kroger family of companies, and we know she'll continue to serve our associates, customers and communities with excellence as the leader of our Central division," Donnelly said of Juergensen. "Her diverse background in operations and merchandising, joined with her passion for the community, will help us deliver our vision to serve America through food inspiration and uplift."

Juergensen has more than 38 years of experience with the company and began her career in 1981 as a bakery clerk in her hometown of Great Bend, Kan. She has held various leadership roles in the Dillons division, including store leader, district manager and director of advertising. She was promoted to vice president of operations for Dillons in 2008. She transferred to the Smith's division as vice president of operations in 2012 and was then named vice president of merchandising in 2015. Juergensen was promoted to her current role as president of Dillons in 2016.

Juergensen was also recognized by Progressive Grocer as a Top Women in Grocery honoree in 2010 and by Ingram's magazine as one of the 50 Kansans You Should Know.

Dreher has been promoted to president of the Dillons division, succeeding Juergensen. The Dillons division includes 80 stores with 11,500 associates serving customers across Kansas, southeastern Nebraska and central Missouri, operating under the Dillons, Baker's and Gerbes banners.  

"We are pleased to elevate Steve to the role of division president at Dillons," Donnelly said. "Steve has driven positive results in his role as VP and understands the Dillons customer and market well. We look forward to his continuation of achieving great results and inspiring our associates to deliver the outstanding customer experience expected at Dillons."

Dreher began his career with the company 1985 in Hays, Kan., as a courtesy clerk. He was promoted to assistant store leader in 1998 and soon after became store leader. In 2003, he was promoted to division labor specialist and then labor manager. Dreher was a district manager in several regions before being named to his current role of VP of operations in 2018. 

Employing nearly half a million associates who serve more than 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,761 retail food stores under a variety of banners, Kroger is No. 2 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.