Joe Kelley, President of Stop & Shop New England Division, Has Resigned
CARLISLE, PA – Ahold USA announced yesterday that Joe Kelley, President of the company’s Stop & Shop New England division, has resigned, effective immediately.
The company said in a press release that Kelley stepped down from his position to pursue other career opportunities, but did not give any other specifics.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Kelley filled the position for just shy of three years, having taken over the role for Mark McGowan in 2012.
Kelley’s expertise and insights will be missed as he moves on to the next phase of his career.
Don Sussman, Division President, Stop & Shop New York Metro, will oversee the Stop & Shop New England division on an interim basis to fill Kelley's position until a replacement can be found.
Sussman joined Stop & Shop in 1995 and has worked in the supermarket industry since 1979, according to The Boston Globe.
The news of Kelley's exit comes after Ahold’s recent announcement that it will be implementing the third phase of its “Project Thunder” transformations, which will be focused on a comprehensive revamping of produce departments at its U.S. stores with a goal of improving produce sales by 3% to 5% at renovated locations.
Ahold USA is part of Ahold, the Dutch-based international food retailing group, and supports four regional Divisions – Stop & Shop New England, Stop & Shop New York Metro, Giant Landover and Giant Carlisle.
Together, those four divisions operate more than 770 supermarkets with approximately 120,000 associates in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
