IBJ Staff
Grocery industry veteran Joseph M. Kelley has been named chairman, president and CEO of Marsh Supermarkets Inc., the Indianapolis–based company said early Monday.
He replaces Frank Lazaran, who announced his departure about two weeks ago.
Officials at parent company Sun Capital Partners said then that a successor had been hired, but did not identify him. At the time, industry publication Supermarket News said Kelley had the job.
Most recently, Kelley was executive vice president at Price Chopper, a Schenectady, N.Y.–based grocery chain with about 125 locations in six states, mostly in New York.
He also has held leadership positions at A&P, Bozzuto’s Inc. and Adams Hometown Markets. He started his career in 1985 as perishables manager at Purity Supreme in Billerica, Mass., after graduating from Bridgewater State College.
“Joe is an outstanding senior executive who brings 25 years of successful experience in supermarket sales, merchandising and marketing to his new role,” Sun Capital Managing Director Scott King said in a prepared statement.
Lazaran had been CEO since October 2006, after Boca Raton, Fla.–based Sun Capital acquired the then–publicly–owned chain for about $325 million and took it private. He was CEO of Florida–based Winn–Dixie Stores Inc. before taking over at Marsh.
Marsh operates more than 100 stores in Indiana and Ohio, with about half in the Indianapolis area.
