Kroger has hired veteran PepsiCo executive David Kennerley as the supermarket operator’s chief financial officer as it steers through another period of rising food prices. Kennerley, who is currently CFO of PepsiCo Europe,

Kroger said on Wednesday PepsiCo executive David Kennerley would succeed Todd Foley as the company's chief financial officer, effective April 3. The U.S. grocer announced last February that Foley would take over the role on an interim basis,

David Kennerley will replace interim CFO Todd Foley, who plans to retire from the grocer at the end of its fiscal first quarter.

Downtown Cincinnati-based Kroger (NYSE: KR), the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets, has named David Kennerley its next senior vice president and CFO, effective April 3. Kennerley is currently senior vice president and CFO for PepsiCo Europe.

Not long after Albertsons laid off nearly 400 corporate employees in the wake of the failed merger, Kroger said that it is eliminating up to 200 positions at its corporate offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.

Kroger has revealed that David Kennerley, current CFO of PepsiCo Europe, will replace Todd Foley as CFO starting April 3.

Traditional supermarkets like Kroger must compete with mass merchandise and warehouse club channels, says a Morningstar analyst.

Foley has been with Kroger since 2001, when he started as an audit manager. He went on to become controller of the Cincinnati-Dayton Division in 2003 and then assistant corporate