Northeast Grocery Names Persons COO
Northeast Grocery, Inc. (NGI), has named John Persons its chief operating officer. Reporting to Frank Curci, CEO of NGI, Persons will oversee Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets operating companies as well as the Northeast Shared Services' (a subsidiary of NGI providing services to both operating companies) merchandising and marketing functions.
Additionally, Ron Ferri, a 34-year veteran of Tops, is succeeding Persons as Tops president.
Persons joins NGI after 39 years with Tops, most recently as the president of the grocery chain based in Williamsville, N.Y. During his tenure at Tops, he had oversight for various functions, including operations, merchandising, sales & marketing, real estate, information technology, and organizational strategy, all leading to his appointment as president in 2015.
In addition to Persons' promotion, Mike Miller has been named chief administrative officer (CAO). Miller was previously senior vice president, Human Resources and executive vice president, Human Resources and Administration at Northeast Shared Services. In his new role, Miller will lead the human resources, legal, government affairs, corporate communications, public relations, and risk management functions, as well as oversee merger integration.
"Promoting John and Mike fills out our executive leadership team and bolsters our experience and expertise in many of the functional areas that continue to contribute to our combined company's growth," said Curci.
Ferri, previously executive vice president, Operations & Distribution at Tops, will report to Persons. Ferri started his career at Tops as a produce clerk in 1989 and has held many store-level and executive management positions over the ensuing 34 years. He has held his current role since 2016.
Mike Patti has been promoted to succeed Ferri as senior vice president, Operations for Tops Markets. He has a 50-year history with Tops where he currently serves as regional vice president for Tops' West Region stores. Jim Gibson will succeed Patti as regional vice president for Tops' West Region. He and John McCaffrey, the regional vice president for Tops' East Region, will report to Patti.
"After nearly 40 years of learning and growing with Tops, I'm excited to continue building the company in this new role, working collaboratively with the talented teams at Tops and Price Chopper/Market 32 to help our combined businesses meet the grocery needs of the communities we serve," Persons said. "Among the tremendous workforce we've developed at Tops, Ron Ferri stands out as someone who understands our communities and cares deeply for our customers. As he has for over 30 years, he'll continue to give this job his all. Ron is well prepared to lead Tops forward."
"One of the things that connected Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops was that the strength of our companies was in our people, from our executive offices to our stores. The talent in our teams continues to be an asset, fostering stability and consistency in our store experience as we build this new enterprise and develop further synergies that will benefit our people, customers, and communities," said Curci.