The Kroger Co. has elevated Bryan Kaltenbach to president of its Compton, Calif.-based Food 4 Less division. Kaltenbach previously held a variety of leadership positions at the Cincinnati-based company, including his most recent role as SVP of sales and marketing.

“Bryan brings extensive retail experience to his new position, and his leadership will be a tremendous asset to our team members and our Food 4 Less customers,” said Rodney McMullen, president/CEO of Kroger.

Kaltenbach, 54, began his career in 1973 at California-based Alpha Beta Markets, fwhere he held a variety of roles prior to its merger in 1991 with Food 4 Less, which was part of Kroger’s merger with Fred Meyer Inc. in 1999. During his career, Kaltenbach has taken on many leadership positions, including store director, district manager and various other roles up to and including SVP of store operations for Food 4 Less.

Kroger’s warehouse-format Food 4 Less division operates 146 locations under the Food 4 Less banner in Southern California, Nevada, Illinois and Indiana, as well as under the Foods Co. banner in central and northern California.

Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer, operates 2,468 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under two dozen local banner names, including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s.