For the executives who command the United States’ publicly traded grocery retailers, 2023 was a lucrative year.
While some saw grocers key metrics like same-store sales come under pressure last year, a Grocery Dive analysis of data from 11 food retailers found they continued to reward their chief executives handsomely — with the CEOs of even smaller supermarket operators ringing up multimillion-dollar compensation packages.
The biggest grocers tended to pay the best, as the CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 traditional supermarket companies by sales, respectively, each brought in more than $15 million last year. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon earned even more, taking home $27 million.
Regional chains also rewarded their CEOs with lavish pay packages. Jonathan Weis, CEO of Weis Markets, which runs about 200 stores in seven Mid-Atlantic states, earned just under $10 million last year. Sprouts Farmers Market CEO Jack Sinclair was close behind with a pay package of over $9.5 million.
Even McMillon’s industry-leading compensation pales in comparison with the biggest pay packages among publicly traded U.S. companies. That distinction went to Jon Winkelried, CEO of private equity firm TPG Inc., who scored more than $198 million in compensation last year, according to a survey by Equilar.
Here’s an overview of the compensation packages the chief executives of top publicly traded grocery retailers in the U.S. received in 2023 based on data the companies filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or published on their websites.
Doug McMillon
Walmart
$26.9 million
Doug McMillon, who serves as Walmart’s president and CEO, took home compensation worth just under $27 million during the 12 months that ended on Jan. 31. His pay package included $1.5 million in salary, nearly $20 million in stock awards and $4.5 million in incentive pay. McMillon — who joined Walmart as an hourly worker in 1984 and became the retailer’s top executive in 2014 — pocketed a 6% pay increase during fiscal year 2024, largely because of a 50% boost in his incentive compensation.
Brian Cornell
Target
$19.2 million
Brian Cornell, Target’s chair and CEO, received an 8% pay increase in fiscal year 2023, which ended Feb. 3, as his total compensation hit $19.2 million, up from about $17.7 million during the prior fiscal year, according to the retailer’s most recent proxy statement. Cornell’s pay package included $1.4 million in base salary — an amount that was unchanged from the two prior fiscal years — along with an $832,000 bonus, stock awards valued at $14.7 million and $1.8 million in incentive compensation. But while Cornell saw a solid pay boost last year, his total package was below the nearly $19.8 million he earned in 2021.
Rodney McMullen
Kroger
$15.7 million
Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO, had the distinction in 2023 of being the best-paid CEO of a traditional grocery store operator in the U.S. even though his compensation declined by 18% compared with the year before. McMullen’s $15.7 million pay package in FY 2023, which ended Feb. 3, included about $1.4 million in salary, $10 million in stock awards and $670,000 in incentive compensation, Kroger reported in its proxy statement. Kroger shaved McMullen’s incentive pay by more than 80% in 2023 because the supermarket company’s annual performance incentive program didn’t meet its target.
Vivek Sankaran
Albertsons
$15.1 million
After seeing his overall compensation nearly double in FY 2022, Albertsons’ CEO saw his pay fall by nearly $1 million to $15.1 million in FY 2023, which ended Feb. 24,. Sankaran’s pay package last year included $1.5 million in salary, stock awards worth $10.5 million and incentive pay of just under $3 million. Sankaran’s arrangement with Albertsons also allows him to use the company’s aircraft for up to 50 hours per year for himself, his family and guests at no charge — a benefit that Albertsons said was worth $185,000 in 2023.
How much did grocery industry CEOs earn in 2023?
Tony Sarsam
SpartanNash
$10 million
Tony Sarsam took home a cool $10 million in 2023 his third full year as president and CEO of SpartanNash. Sarsam’s pay package, which was about 2% more than what he received in 2022, included a $980,000 salary, just under $4.2 million in stock awards and $4.6 million in incentive pay.
Jonathan Weis
Weis Markets
$9.8 million
Jonathan Weis received almost $9.9 million in compensation in 2023, slightly below the more than $10 million package he garnered in 2022. The chairman, president and CEO of Weis Markets’ pay last year included over $1.2 million in base salary, incentive pay of about $8.3 million and $275,000 in other compensation.
Jack Sinclair
Sprouts Farmers Market
$9.5 million
Jack Sinclair earned more than $9.5 million in 2023 in his role as CEO of Sprouts Farmers Market, up by more than a third from the previous year. His pay package last year included a salary of nearly $1.2 million and more than $5.1 million in stock awards — an amount that rose more than 60% year-over-year as the company’s stock price also increased markedly.
Frans Muller
Ahold Delhaize
$6.6 million
Frans Muller earned a pay package of 6.1 million euros (approximately $6.6 million) in 2023 as head of Ahold Delhaize. The president and CEO of the Netherlands-based grocery store operator’s pay was off last year by about 6% compared with what he earned in 2022, primarily because of a decline of about 470,000 euros in his long-term share-based incentive, which represents the bulk of Muller’s compensation.
Sandy Douglas
United Natural Foods, Inc.
$6.2 million
Sandy Douglas brought home a compensation package in 2023 that was worth about $6.2 million — a figure that was off by nearly 30% compared with the previous year as his stock awards declined and his non-equity incentive plan compensation fell to zero. The drop in Douglas’ pay for 2023 came as UNFI’s stock price cratered amid a sharp decline in the company’s financial performance.
Robert J. Sheedy Jr.
Grocery Outlet
$6.2 million
RJ Sheedy’s pay at Grocery Outlet nearly doubled last year as he ascended from president of the discount food retailer to president and CEO. Sheedy earned about $6.2 million in FY 2023, which ended Dec. 30, of which nearly $4 million was in the form of stock awards. Sheedy also received more than $900,000 in salary and nearly $1.3 million in incentive compensation.
Todd Jones
Publix
$3.4 million
Todd Jones’ compensation as CEO of Publix was nearly $3.4 million in 2023, a figure that was about 6% higher than he earned in 2022. Jones, who handed the CEO’s role to Kevin Murphy on Jan. 1 and now serves as the Florida-based supermarket chain’s chairman, received most of his pay in the form of a salary of about $2.7 million. Jones’ pay package last year also included more than $460,000 in incentive plan compensation.
