CINCINNATI, April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced Angel Colón has been promoted to senior director of diversity. He has been serving as the company's director of multicultural development for merchandising since 2008.

Mr. Colon succeeds Rueben Shaffer, who retired at the end of March, as Kroger's head of diversity and also assumes the responsibilities for the company's strong supplier diversity program.

"Angel has been on the leading edge of Kroger's multicultural merchandising initiatives, as well as our internal resource groups supporting and promoting the needs of our diverse workforce, for nearly a decade," said Tim Massa, Kroger's group vice president of human resources and labor relations. "We look forward to his continued leadership in his new role, where he will be responsible for Kroger's diversity efforts while also continuing to shape and influence our multicultural efforts."

Mr. Colón has held a variety of leadership roles in the grocery industry for 27 years, including product management, direct store delivery merchandising, category management, promotions, sales leadership, broker management, regional marketing, customer marketing and ethnic marketing. He joined Kroger in 2008 in his current role, where he established the company's Multicultural Department and strategic direction. Mr. Colón was also a founding member of the KEPASA Associate Resource Group at Kroger's general office, which is an affinity group that empowers, supports and advocates for Hispanic and Latino associates.

Mr. Colón earned an MBA and lives in Cincinnati with his wife. They have three children.

Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Million Dollar Club. Earlier this year, Kroger was named one of the top eight U.S. corporations for inclusion by Omnikal (formerly Diversity Business).

Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 443,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,796 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering - a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service - in addition to our 2,255 pharmacies, 784 convenience stores, 319 fine jewelry stores, 220 retail health clinics, 1,445 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools.

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.