Executive will serve as a strategic advisor for two years

CHICAGO — Bob Mariano, the CEO of Kroger Co.’s Roundy’s division and the creator and namesake of the Mariano’s grocery chain in the Chicago area, is set to retire on September 1.

Mariano, who joined Kroger when that company acquired Roundy’s in November for $800 million, plans to stay on as a strategic advisor for two years.

“Bob has been a tremendous leader for Roundy’s and the entire supermarket industry,” Kroger chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said in a statement. “The centerpiece of his career, of course, is the Mariano’s chain of stores in his hometown of Chicago. We see a bright future ahead for our Pick ‘N Save and Metro Market stores in Wisconsin and for Mariano’s stores in Chicago. And we look forward to our continued partnership with Bob as a strategic consultant and advisor. The entire Kroger and Roundy’s family extends our best wishes to Bob and his family in retirement.”

Mariano, 66, began his career in the grocery industry in 1967, when he worked as a part-time deli clerk at Dominick’s supermarket in Chicago. He served in various roles of increasing responsibility, including senior vice president, before being named president and CEO of Dominick’s in 1995. He led the company through an initial public offering in 1996 before the company was purchased by Safeway in 1998.

Mariano took on leadership of Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. in 2002. Roundy’s opened the first store under the Mariano’s banner in 2010 in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. Today there are 34 Mariano’s store locations throughout the Chicago area.

Don Rosanova will continue to serve as president of Mariano’s and Michael Marx as president of Roundy’s Supermarkets Wisconsin. The two executives were appointed to those posts in March.