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Kelley to Join Marsh as CEO: Sources

INDIANAPOLIS — Joseph Kelley, a former Price Chopper executive, has been named chief executive officer of Marsh Supermarkets here, according to sources in the industry.

INDIANAPOLIS — Joseph Kelley, a former Price Chopper executive, has been named chief executive officer of Marsh Supermarkets here, according to sources in the industry.

Frank Lazaran, chairman, president and CEO of Marsh, plans to step down at the end of the month for family-related reasons, the company said Tuesday.

"Frank told employees that since the passing of his father this past summer he has realized a need to return to southern California in order to spend more time tending to family matters," Marsh said in a prepared statement.

Marsh declined to comment on the report of Kelley's hiring. In a prepared statement, the chain said its parent company, Sun Capital Partners, had concluded an executive search and hired a successor to Lazaran, and was planning to announce the new CEO in May.

Lazaran had joined Marsh in 2006 with the company's acquisition by Sun Capital Partners, the Boca Raton, Fla.-based private equity firm. He previously had been CEO of Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla., and before that with with Safeway's Randalls division in Texas and with Kroger's Ralphs division in California.

Kelley most recently was executive vice president at Price Chopper, based in Schenectady, N.Y. He previously had been vice president of merchandising, and before that he was vice president of perishables merchandising.