Kings/Balducci’s Promotes 4

Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market have promoted four executives internally.

“At Kings and Balducci’s, we are proud to foster and reward professional growth within the company,” noted Kings and Balducci’s Chairman and CEO Judy Spires, who added that the executives “will continue to lead these two brands into new territory, and we look forward to incorporating their strategic input and direction.” 

The promotions are as follows

Joseph Parisi is now COO of Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market. A company veteran, Parisi began his career at Kings as a store manager. He now leads the operations, engineering and maintenance teams, as well as overseeing all new store buildouts as the company continues to expand.

Allen Merken is now VP, engineering, real estate and construction. In his new role, Merken will support the company’s growth plans through direct involvement in real estate opportunities, in addition to managing all current real estate relationships with landlords, real estate brokers, and various community and civic organizations.

Kathe Benjamin is now VP, human resources and labor relations. During her long tenure with the company, Benjamin has held the roles of executive secretary, HR administrator, HR manager for home office, HR manager for stores, manager of employee and labor relations and, most recently, director of human resources and labor relations.

Sharon Bastianelli is now VP, information technology, in which role she will oversee the collaboration between merchandising, operations and all support departments to ensure that information systems support the strategic needs of the business. Bastianelli will also lead the retail, network and programming teams.

 Based in Parsippany, N.J., Kings operates 25 stores in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York. Balducci’s operates markets in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia, with Gourmet On the Go café locations in New York City and Baltimore. The chains were acquired in 2016 by KB Holding Inc., a Delaware-based investment firm affiliated with GSSG Capital, a global diversified private holding company with offices in New York, Europe and the Middle East, from Angelo, Gordon & Co. and MTN Capital Partners LLC.