Demoulas Board: President Will Remain

TEWKSBURY, Mass. — The executive search firm engaged by Demoulas Market Basket is not seeking to replace its embattled president, according to a statement from the company’s board of directors.

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The updated information could serve to tone down speculation over the future of Arthur T. Demoulas, the current president who has been involved in several disputes with board since the board fell under control of a rival family faction earlier this year. The board earlier this year brought up (but tabled) a motion to have Demoulas removed from office and since hired an executive search firm.

“Arthur T. Demoulas continues to be president of Market Basket, and the Board is not currently looking for a new president,” the Demoulas board said in an online memo. “In the coming year, consistent with our duties, the board will provide counsel and oversight on various matters, including the implementation of a growth strategy as it is presented to us by Arthur T. Demoulas and the management team, the capital structure of the business, and investment decisions. It is our hope that, together, we can move forward in a more collegial manner that will prove to be beneficial to all of Market Basket’s constituents.”

Members of Market Basket's management team loyal to Arthur T. Demoulas remained skeptical. In a statement provided to SN Friday, William Marsden, Market Basket's director of operations, said the board message was "designed to calm down associates" who had rallied in support of Arther T. Demoulas when the board considered firing him in July.

"The bottom line is that the Board has hired an executive search firm and the company has already been billed hundreds of thousands of dollars for their services," Marsden's statement said. "The Board has never endorsed Arthur T. Demoulas and we firmly believe that their ultimate goal is his removal and the removal of other senior members of management. And their statement is just another attempt by the Board to gain some credibility."

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