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.

Kroger has officially announced its new Chief Financial Officer. The Cincinnati-based company announced David Kennerley, the senior vice president and CFO for PepsiCo Europe, as senior vice president and chief financial officer. The move will be effective April 3.

Kroger said on Wednesday PepsiCo executive David Kennerley would succeed Todd Foley as the company's chief financial officer, effective April 3.

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.

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

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

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,