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• 00:00The CEO resigned after the board conducted an investigation into his personal conduct. We know that it was a personal conduct and that the behavior did not involve the company’s operations, but that it was inconsistent with their policy on business ethics. So now, you know, broadening apologies resigned effective immediately. And Brian Sargeant, who’s been on the board of the company for almost 20 years, he’ll serve as interim CEO. So how important is this CEO that did resign, Mr. McMullin? How important has has he been to this story? He’s been in his role for, you know, over a decade. And he’s, you know, led the company through really important moments, whether it’s, you know, really getting into the commerce business, whether companies through the pandemic, you know, the period of historic inflation that we’ve lived through. And most recently he tried to merge with Albertsons in what could have been the biggest grocery deal in the U.S. in history. Of course, you know, it did not come through after the government blocked it. But he’s, you know, someone that’s been at the helm for for quite a while after a long tenure at the company and as someone yeah, that’s, you know, led the company through a lot of important moments. How is Kroger doing otherwise if we just take that away for a second? What’s it like to be in a Kroger business right now? Yeah. So it’s you know, the company did really well during the pandemic and inflation like a lot of its other peers in the retail business. And that growth has started to moderate partly as people are to save money. And, you know, as we talked about the Albertsons deal that had been sort of an overhang on the company for the last few years as they tried to merge. You know, and then the deal about blocked by the FTC, they had to go to court to defend it. And we know the result now, which is that it didn’t go through. But that’s been, you know, a bit of a distraction for for quite a while. And on top of that, the management team is also pretty new. The CFO left last year and joined a competitor, Costco, the chief merchant, which is of course a really important role in the retail business. He also left at the end of last year for a different opportunity. And so we’re kind of seeing both of those factors starting to play out now as they try to operate and navigate through a lot of macro uncertainties. So what’s the is there another M & A trade in there for the in that supermarket business? Again, you mentioned Kroger has had some success and they’ve had some deals blocked. Are they still in a market for growth for the acquisition? It’s hard to say right now. I mean, the Albertson’s, the oh, just fell apart, you know, a few months ago. And the expectation, I think, from people who follow the company is that, you know, Kroger could look to do other deals down the line. But I think for now, the main priority is getting back to business and pursuing, you know, organic growth.