Kroger adds new wrinkle to Leadership Summit

Kroger’s annual Leadership Summit will begin in unconventional fashion when thousands of employees form a human breast cancer awareness ribbon Sept. 29 on the field of Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.



Kroger plans to bring more than 5,000 employees from across the country to Cincinnati from Sept. 28 – 30 for the company's annual Leadership Summit. During the meeting, attendees will participate in a Sharing Courage walk on Sept. 29 to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research, detection and treatment. The walk will conclude at Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals, where Kroger employees will take the field to form a massive, human pink ribbon to show solidarity with breast cancer survivors and their allies.



The following evening, Kroger plans to light its downtown Cincinnati headquarters building pink as part of an annual event in partnership with Yoplait.



The Kroger Leadership Summit includes managers from every store, manufacturing facility, distribution center and office in the country along with thousands of local employees, families, friends and other partners, which brings the grand total of attendees up to about 7,000 people. Those assembled for the event will discuss the company's growth strategy and Kroger's ongoing commitment to its customers, associates and the communities it serves, according to a statement from Kroger.



"Our associates are proud partners in the fight against breast cancer," said Tim Massa, Kroger's group VP of human resources and labor relations. "One in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetimes. And when somebody is diagnosed, everyone around them is impacted. We want our associates and our communities to know that we're in this together."



The breast cancer awareness walk and ribbon formation reinforces the theme of Kroger's Leadership Summit – that Kroger associates, both individually and collectively, can "Make a Difference" in the lives of customers and communities.



This is the 10th year of Kroger's Sharing Courage campaign, held annually during the month of October. Since its inception, Kroger and its customers, associates and partners have raised more than $30 million to support local breast cancer initiatives.