GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General Corp. has appointed Emily Taylor executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, succeeding Jason Reiser, who has left the company. Taylor, who has worked at Dollar General for more than 20 years, most recently served as senior vice president of channel ­innovation.

“We are confident that Emily’s strategic vision and long-standing leadership with Dollar General will help to drive our continued efforts to innovate, capture growth opportunities and serve our customers and communities,” said Jeff Owen, chief operating officer.

Since joining Dollar General in 1998, Taylor has advanced through positions of increasing responsibility across several major functional disciplines, including investor relations, financial planning and analysis, merchandise planning, pricing, and merchandising operations.

In her new role, she is responsible for the strategy and execution of the retailer’s merchandising, marketing, global sourcing, merchandise operations and in-store experience. She takes over the chief merchant’s role at a time when Dollar General is implementing several key merchandising initiatives, including expanding the number of cooler doors across the chain; rebranding and repositioning a number of private brands; and DG Fresh, which involves transitioning the company to self-distribution of frozen and refrigerated goods.

Taylor was named senior vice president of channel innovation in 2019, following five years as senior vice president and general merchandise manager of nonconsumables. She was deeply involved in Dollar General’s Non-consumables Initiative (NCI), a critical merchandising program launched in mid-2018 that has produced an enhanced and expanded product assortment in key nonconsumable categories.

Dollar General also announced two additional organizational changes. Tracey Hermann, who was senior vice president of store operations, replaces Taylor as senior vice president of channel innovation. Hermann joined Dollar General in 2013 as senior director of merchandising for the Dollar General Market format and was promoted to vice president of merchandising support in 2014. She moved over to operations in 2016 as a division vice president.

Kal Patel succeeds Hermann as senior vice president of store operations. He had been vice president and division manager since joining Dollar General in 2018.