Market Basket’s board of directors named the grocery store chain’s chief financial officer as its interim chief executive officer, less than a week after it fired longtime CEO Arthur T. Demoulas.
Donald T. Mulligan has worked at Market Basket for more than four decades, slowly rising through the ranks before being promoted to chief financial officer in 1999, Board Chair Jay K. Hachigan said in a statement.
“Don Mulligan is the voice of consistency at Market Basket,” Hachigan said. “The Board has worked closely with Mr. Mulligan and has come to appreciate his exceptional business acumen, the respect and admiration our associates have for him, and his deep understanding of the history and culture that make Market Basket so special.”
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Mulligan’s appointment as interim CEO comes after the board formally removed Demoulas on Sept. 10, several months after placing him on leave over claims he was planning to lead a work stoppage.
In a statement after his firing, a spokesperson for Demoulas said it was “crystal clear [the board] had no intention of reinstating [him].”
“The Board’s actions are a farcical cover-up for a coup,” the spokesperson, Justine Griffin, said. “The so-called investigation was designed from the start to falsely tarnish the reputation of Mr. Demoulas and his leadership team.”
The firing came 11 years after Demoulas was fired from his position in 2014, with another wing of the Demoulas family, led by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, taking over.
That firing prompted two months of protests by Market Basket employees that ultimately led to Arthur T. Demoulas and his sisters buying the other family members out of the company.