Long Island supermarket chain King Kullen announced Tracey Cullen as its next president and chief operating officer. She takes over for Joseph W. Brown, who held both titles for the past five years and is retiring.
Cullen has been the grocer’s senior vice president of company operations since 2010, according to her LinkedIn profile, and is also a member of the chain’s board of directors. Before she joined her family’s business, she worked as an attorney at a labor and employment law firm in New York.
Cullen, who is the great-granddaughter of the chain’s founder, Michael J. Cullen, and daughter of former co-president Brian C. Cullen, is the first female president in the chain’s nearly 100-year history.
“This is a special day for the King Kullen organization as Tracey takes the helm of the company founded by her great-grandfather 96 years ago,” Board Chairman James A. Cullen said in a statement. “Over the years, my niece has taken on leadership roles of increasing responsibility and has played an important part in helping shape the company’s future.
By stepping down, Brown closes out a 53-year career with King Kullen. He joined the company as an associate in 1973 and spent nearly 20 years in that role before moving to director of grocery merchandise and procurement, according to his LinkedIn bio. He ascended through other merchandising management positions before becoming president and chief operating officer in 2021.
The news of Cullen’s appointment comes a week after the chain promoted three executives. Frank Vassallo is now senior vice president of store operations, Chris La Bella is the chain’s new senior director of merchandising, and Andrew Wasserman is now director of center store merchandising and procurement.
King Kullen operates 24 supermarkets under its namesake banner and four stores under its Wild by Nature brand.
