Market Basket Ousts CEO

Christopher Lambert

Staff Writer

The firing of a longtime Chief Operating Officer sent ripples throughout the New England Community.

Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas has been fired by the company’s board for taking business matters and decisions into his own hands without consulting them.

A similar situation occurred in 2014 when he was ousted by the board; however, due to his reputation, there were letters written to the board, leading to his eventual rehiring.

In 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Demoulas. According to MassLive, the Market Basket Board said that Demoulas had “…a long-standing history of exercising his own unfettered discretion as to virtually every important decision at the company — while ignoring and stonewalling the Market Basket Board.”

On top of this, the complaint in the 2024 lawsuit said, “He also refused to provide annual budgets, get sign-off on or notify the board of major capital expenditures, or make senior managers or other officers available to board members.”

Demoulas has denied all allegations made against him. However, he has alleged that his sisters, who own parts of the company, have been making a plot against him in resentment of his success.

Since his ousting, no new CEO has been hired. Demoulas has expressed his preferred replacement to be one of his daughters, citing that she will be someone who is “about accountability; i.e., how to manage an $8 billion company so that it thrives for the next 100 years.”

Market Basket Chief Financial Officer, Donald Mulligan, is the current interim CEO as the company prepares to make a change in management to prepare for its future.