Northeast Grocery names new COO, Tops president

Northeast Grocery, Inc., headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y. and the parent company of Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Friendly Markets, has named John Persons as chief operating officer. Persons will oversee both the Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets operating companies, as well as the Northeast Shared Services (a subsidiary of Northeast Grocery providing services to both operating companies) merchandising, and marketing functions. He will report directly to Frank Curci, CEO of Northeast Grocery. Ron Ferri, a 34-year Tops veteran, will succeed 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 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. 

In addition to his role at Tops, Persons has served on the board of numerous Western New York not-for-profits, including his recent role as board chair of The Children’s Hospital of Buffalo Foundation and current role on the board of directors of Kaleida Health. He and his wife, Amy, are the parents of four children and live in Clarence, N.Y.

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 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,” said Curci. “I’m confident that our executive team, which also includes Dave Langless (CFO), Scott Kessler (CIO), Blaine Bringhurst (Price Chopper/Market 32 president), and Ron Ferri (Tops’ newly promoted president), 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,” said Curci.

Ferri, previously executive vice president, Operations & Distribution, at Tops, has been promoted to president of Tops and will also report to Persons. Ferri began 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.