Kings Food Markets/Balducci’s Food Lovers Markets, the Parsippany, NJ-based regional supermarket chain, earlier this month announced a major leadership reorganization, the first since the company was acquired last September by GSSG, the Qatari-based business and investment firm.
Among those key changes is the addition of Daniel Gallagher, who has joined Kings as executive VP and CFO. Gallagher comes to Kings with more than 16 years of experience in senior level management positions and he will oversee the finance and loss prevention teams. Much of his career has been with Town Sports International, a publicly-traded firm that is the largest owner and operator of fitness clubs in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
Jessica Gasser has been promoted to executive VP-strategic services. Gasser will continue to oversee the areas of human resources, labor relations and information technology, while taking on the additional responsibility for leading strategic initiatives for the company.
Joseph Parisi has been promoted to senior VP-operations. A 27-year Kings veteran, Parisi has held positions with increasing levels of responsibility, most recently as VP-operations. In his new role, he will continue to oversee the operations team, as well as take on new leadership responsibilities.
Arthur Goncalves has been promoted to VP-center store, where he will oversee center store operations as well as pricing, brands and shelf management. Over the past 20 years, Goncalves has held various positions in the business, including general store manager, manager of category space allocation, manager of store development, director of seafood and, most recently, VP-produce and floral.
Donna Mastellone has been promoted to VP-produce and floral, where she will oversee the category-management business plans for the produce and floral departments. The 18-year Kings veteran has held numerous roles within the organization, most recently as director of floral, specialty boutique sales and merchandising.
Allen Merken has been promoted to senior director of engineering, maintenance and construction. Merken will continue to oversee remodels and renovations. In his new role, he will support the company’s growth plans through additional involvement in site selection, analysis and planning.
Thomas McNerney has been promoted to senior director of operations. McNerney will oversee the operations and quality assurance departments.
Kathe Benjamin has been promoted to director of human resources and labor relations. In her new role, Benjamin will oversee all aspects of human resources including recruitment and retention, employee/ labor relations, training and performance management and compensation and benefits.
In addition, key merchandising expansions include: Paul Hamilton has been promoted to produce buyer. In his new role, Hamilton will work closely with the produce/floral teams to develop new programs and in-store experiences that will continue to evolve the produce and floral departments. Michele Edwards has been promoted to floral buyer. The 31-year Kings veteran will now lead the buying efforts for the floral teams and continue to ensure the product mix and assortment meet consumer’s needs.
“Talented leadership is paramount to any company’s success,” said Judy Spires, chairman and CEO of Kings Food Markets. “By promoting these key leaders within our company, and bringing in new, top-tier talent, Kings is further positioned for growth and inspiration, as we continue to push the boundaries within the food industry.”
In August 2016, after 10 years of control, private equity firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. sold the 35 store group to KB Holding, Inc., which is connected to GSSG Capital, one of the largest privately-held businesses in the Middle East nation of Qatar.
At the time, it was hoped that the new ownership group would provide greater capital investment to add more stores and continue the company’s remodeling program. Since then, one new Balducci’s has opened at the site of the former D’Agostino’s unit in Rye Brook, NY. That unit is 11,000 square feet in size and opened in late January.
Six weeks ago, King’s/Balducci’s president and COO Rich Durante, who had been with the organization for 29 years, resigned, and no replacement was immediately named. Also leaving the company recently was former CFO Monica Bonamego, who had been with Kings/Balducci’s since 2004.
