Liz Zolcak, the former Aldi executive who led The Kroger Co.’s repositioning of its Ruler Foods discount format, has joined Fresh Thyme Market as its new VP of operations, a company spokesperson confirmed to WGB.

Zolcak, who went by Liz Ferneding when she joined Kroger in 2017, helped to lead the Cincinnati retailer’s moves to refine and reposition the fledgling Ruler division as a hard discounter in the style of Aldi, where she'd previously held multiple roles including director of corporate buying. Changes at Ruler under her watch included assortments featuring Kroger’s private label products and greater fresh penetration, with several new stores and an updated look. Ruler is part of Kroger’s Seymour, Ind.-based Jay C division and currently operates nearly 50 stores in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.

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