CINCINNATI, Ohio — Rodney McMullen has stepped down as CEO of Kroger after a “personal conduct” investigation by the company.

Kroger released a statement Monday announcing McMullen, 64, had resigned after the company’s board had investigated “personal conduct that, while unrelated to the business, was inconsistent with Kroger’s Policy on Business Ethics.”

The statement says the company became aware of “certain personal conduct” by McMullen on Feb. 21 and began its investigation. The statement does not specify the reported conduct by McMullen, but says it doesn’t involved “financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates.”

According to NPR, McMullen had been CEO of Kroger since 2014. He joined Kroger in 1978 as a part-time stocker and previously had served as chief operating officer, chief financial officer and a board director for over a decade, NPR reports.

Ronald Sargent has been appointed as to chairman of the Board of Directors and interim chief executive officer, the statement says. Kroger will conduct a search for its next CEO, with Sargent agreeing to remain as interim CEO until someone is appointed to the role permanently.

Kroger, which is based in Cincinnati, is the largest grocery chain in the nation with more than 2,700 locations, primarily in the Midwest. There are nearly 200 stores in Ohio, but none in the Cleveland area.

McMullen’s departure comes as Kroger is regrouping from its failed effort to merger with Albertsons. The two companies proposed what would have been the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in 2022, saying they needed to combine forces to better compete with rivals like Walmart.

But two judges halted the $24.6 billion deal in December, saying it was likely to lessen competition and raise prices. Albertsons later sued Kroger, saying it had failed to make every effort to ensure that the merger would win regulatory approval.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)