Kings/Balducci Makes Executive Moves

Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market have promoted Stephen Palisi-Reynolds, CPA to VP and controller; Karen Roche to VP, marketing and Laura Wallace to director of marketing. Additionally, directly after taking on her new role, Roche brought aboard Don Morris as senior creative director.

In his new position, Palisi-Reynolds, a CPA, will also assume additional responsibilities for the treasury function for the company. He will report to EVP and CFO Jim Moriarty.

“Stephen has consistently demonstrated that he is a collaborative, results-oriented business manager and we’re thrilled to expand his portfolio and elevate his role,” said Moriarty.

Palisi-Reynolds began his career with Kings in 2008 in the finance department as general accounting and financial systems manager. In 2015, he became controller, in which capacity he was responsible for all of the company’s internal and external financial reporting and corporate tax filings, as well accounts payable and accounts receivable.

Speaking of the executive moves in marketing, Kings and Balducci’s Chairman and CEO Judy Spires noted that the company was expecting the department “to test and roll out new ways to attract and retain customers for both banners. Growing our marketing team and empowering them to develop innovative creative deployed with new technologies to reach new customers are the first steps, and I am thrilled to promote Karen Roche to the executive team to lead the charge.”

Previously senior director in the marketing department, Roche will continue to report to Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer Stephen Corradini. She brings to her new role a diverse background in retail marketing encompassing direct mail, email, website and social media initiatives, along with customer relationship management (CRM). As VP, marketing, Roche will manage creative content, brand development, digital marketing, media and planning, budgeting, and external agency team management.

Continuing to report to Roche, Wallace, the new director of marketing, has leveraged her integrated-marketing background to further develop both brands’ presence in digital, print, direct mail and social media marketing. Before joining Kings, she was a marketing director at Food Network and Cooking Channel, managing advertising partnerships and integrations. In her new role, Wallace will lead holistic content planning and expand the digital reach and ecommerce opportunities for both banners.

Also reporting to Roche, Morris, the new senior creative director, has launched and rebranded companies, designed three film festivals and numerous events, helped start up restaurants, redesigned and launched many high-profile publications, launched and rebranded websites, launched products, served as the art director of various books, and created successful marketing campaigns. His prestigious client list includes American Express; A&E Network; AARP; Bloomberg LP; Cisco; Hearst Corp.; Little, Brown and Co.; Nickelodeon; Scholastic.com; Shake Shack; Sundance; Time Inc.; The Wall Street Journal; and Zappos.com.

Kings is based in Parsippany, N.J., with 25 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, while Balducci’s markets can be found in New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia, with Gourmet On the Go café locations in New York and Baltimore.