Wakefern Food Corp. Makes Top Executive Changes

Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp. announced in an email Feb. 4 to WGB several top-level executive promotions within the company. President and COO Joe Sheridan said the changes to the retailer-owned grocery cooperative will further the company’s growth.

“We are excited to report recent promotions at Wakefern that will enhance our dynamic leadership team and position us for continued growth and success,” Sheridan said in an email statement.

Sheridan announced that Jeff Mondelli has moved into the role of VP of grocery. 

“Jeff first joined Wakefern in 2013 as a procurement manager in our pharmacy division and was promoted to VP of pharmacy in 2017,” Sheridan said. “He took on the added responsibility of health and beauty care in 2019. In 2020, Jeff was chosen to lead Wakefern’s COVID-19 pandemic response—a critical role that continues to help us successfully navigate our crisis response.”

A graduate of Rutgers University’s Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Mondelli later went on to earn an MBA from Rutgers. 

In the email, Sheridan said responsibility for HBC and nonfoods will now transition to Pat Mooney, who has been named VP of HBC and nonfoods.

Mooney most recently was VP of merchandising support, "leading merchandising efforts and establishing best practices for sourcing, commodity tracking and vendor cost management in the vendor management office,” Sheridan said.

Mooney joined Wakefern in 2009 and worked in a variety of leadership roles over the years and executed successful promotional, planning and marketing initiatives. 

Wakefern Director of Marketing and Sales Planning Seth Nieman has been promoted to VP of merchandising support. Nieman joined Wakefern in 2018 as a product manager in the Own Brands division, “where he was instrumental in leading the go-to-market strategy and successfully launching numerous Bowl & Basket and Paperbird categories,” Sheridan said.

As director of marketing and sales planning, Nieman led promotional communications and ensured brand consistency for the cooperative’s banners. In his new role, Sheridan said Nieman will “continue to drive change in the organization through the oversight of the vendor management office, pricing analytics department and the space planning team.”

Another executive move comes with Harshil Patel, who has been promoted to director of pharmacy. Harshil joined Wakefern in March 2018 as a clinical pharmacy administrator and was soon promoted to a pharmacy field service specialist. He was promoted to manager of pharmacy services in February 2020, and Sheridan said Patel “played a key role in implementing the successful COVID-19 vaccination program at ShopRite pharmacies.”

Prior to joining the cooperative, Harshil worked for Village Supermarkets Inc. as a pharmacist and manager for eight years. Harshil received his Doctor of Pharmacy from Rutgers University and is pursuing an MBA from the University of Illinois. 

Francisco Alberto has been promoted to director of marketing and sales planning, where he will continue to “champion the success of each of our banners with a focus on customer perception, changing consumer demands, and the needs of our membership,” said Sheridan. Alberto joined Wakefern 20 years ago and has worked as an analyst, buyer, category manager and procurement manager. He most recently was manager of promotional marketing.

Michael Day, who most recently was VP of strategic planning and transformation, will now assume responsibility for business development and member services, as well as the real estate division for Wakefern. 

Sheridan said “all of these recent changes enable the cooperative to move forward and continue to succeed in 2022.” 

Wakefern includes nearly 280 ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, serving millions of customers each week.