Among several personnel moves announced June 29, New York-based Northeast Grocery Inc., the parent company of Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Friendly Markets, has named John Persons as chief operating officer.
Persons will oversee the Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets operating companies, as well as the Northeast Shared Services merchandising and marketing functions. He will report to Frank Curci, CEO of Northeast Grocery Inc.
Ron Ferri, a 34-year Tops industry veteran, will succeed Persons as Tops president. In addition, Mike Miller has been named chief administrative officer. Miller was previously SVP of human resources and EVP of human resources and administration at Northeast Shared Services.
Persons joins NGI after 39 years with Tops, most recently as president of the Williamsville, New York-based grocery chain.
During his tenure at Tops, he has had oversight for various functions, including operations, merchandising, sales and marketing, real estate, information technology and organizational strategy, all leading to his appointment as president in 2015.
Persons has served on the board of numerous Western New York nonprofits, including his recent role as board chair of The Children’s Hospital of Buffalo Foundation and current role on the board of directors for Kaleida Health.
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 to COO and Mike to CAO 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,” Curci said.
“I’m confident that our executive team, which also includes CFO Dave Langless, CIO Scott Kessler, Blaine Bringhurst (Price Chopper/Market 32 president) and Ferri, is equipped to provide us with cutting-edge leadership.
“We are very fortunate to have the seasoned, proven leadership of Blaine Bringhurst at Price Chopper/Market 32 and now Ron Ferri at Tops at the helms of our operating companies.”
Ferri, previously EVP of operations and distribution since 2016, will also report to Persons as he assumes the role of Tops president. He began his career at Tops as a produce clerk in 1989 and has held many store-level and executive management positions over his 34-year career.
Mike Patti has been promoted to succeed Ferri as SVP of operations for Tops Markets. He has a 50-year history with Tops, where he most recently served as regional VP for Tops’ West Region stores. Jim Gibson will succeed Patti. Gibson and John McCaffrey, the regional VP for Tops’ East Region, will report to Patti.
“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.”
Curci concluded, “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.”
