Kings Promotes 5

Kings Food Markets has promoted five employees in its operations, marketing and merchandising teams.

Joseph Parisi (left) has been promoted to VP of operations, in which he will oversee the day-to-day execution of Kings’ strategic plan at store level, reporting to COO Rich Durante. A 35-year industry veteran, Parisi joined Kings in 1990 and has held several previous roles at the company, among them senior director, area director, general store manager and assistant store manager.

Karen Roche (right) is now senior director of marketing, reporting to Judy Spires, president and CEO of Parsippany, N.J.-based Kings. Experienced in retail marketing, including direct mail, e-mail, digital and social media, as well as customer relationship management (CRM), Roche helped Kings achieve several significant marketing and brand enhancement milestones this past year. Before joining Kings, she worked at The Children’s Place, where she guided the growth and expansion of its private label credit card, loyalty marketing and gift card programs.

Arthur Goncalves (left) has been promoted to director of seafood sales and merchandising, reporting to VP of Produce, Floral, Seafood and Meat Paul Kneeland. A 17-year Kings veteran, Goncalves has held key positions in store operations, center store merchandising, engineering and maintenance. His most recent role was store development manager.

Passion for Business

Additionally, Store Managers Maryann Klejmont (right) and Emilio Romeo (lower left) became area directors. Klejmont, who managed the Morristown, N.J., store, and Romeo, who managed the Short Hills, N.J., store, collectively have more than 30 years of experience merchandising and operating stores of varying volumes; both will report to Parisi.

“At Kings, we are passionate about sharing the love of food with our customers, from every interaction with our associates, and the individuals we are promoting … exemplify that long-standing commitment,” noted Spires

Kings operates 25 upscale stores in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.