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Market Basket appoints interim CEO to replace Arthur T. Demoulas
Interim CEO Don Mulligan was one of the Market Basket executives who stood by Arthur T. Demoulas during the infamous 2014 power struggle.
There’s a new sheriff in town at Market Basket following former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas’s unceremonious removal last week.
The grocery chain’s longtime chief financial officer, Donald T. Mulligan, will now serve as its interim CEO, Market Basket’s board of directors announced Tuesday.
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“Don Mulligan is the voice of consistency at Market Basket, one that our associates and customers can count on to proudly continue the same thriving culture and the ‘More For Your Dollar’ shopping experience,” board Chair Jay K. Hachigian said in a statement.
He praised Mulligan’s “exceptional business acumen” and relationship with the company’s employees, as well as his “deep understanding of the history and culture that make Market Basket so special.”
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A Lowell native and 42-year Market Basket veteran, Mulligan worked his way up in the company. He’d originally worked on the Market Basket account at the Tewksbury accounting firm Sullivan Bille PC before Telemachus “Mike” Demoulas — Arthur T.’s father — hired him full-time in 1983.
Decades later, Mulligan was one of the Market Basket executives who walked out to support Arthur T. during the 2014 power struggle that prompted widespread customer boycotts.
At the time, Demoulas won the CEO job back after teaming up with his three sisters to buy out rival family members in a $1.6 billion deal. But Demoulas’s relationship with his sisters soured over the years, culminating in his May suspension amid allegations that he was quietly planning a retaliatory work stoppage.
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Demoulas’s removal as president and CEO last week came after a failed attempt at mediation. In a statement after his firing, a spokesperson for Demoulas called the board’s actions “a farcical cover up for a coup” and alleged it was “crystal clear that they had no intention of reinstating Mr. Demoulas.”
Demoulas’s sisters are able to outvote him, as they control a combined 61% stake in the company, compared to Arthur T.’s 28%.
In his statement, Hachigian emphasized the stability Mulligan’s appointment brings.
“We are thrilled to have a homegrown leader of Mr. Mulligan’s caliber step into the role of Interim CEO to guide Market Basket and ensure seamless leadership for our associates, customers, and communities,” Hachigian said.
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