Wakefern Food Corp. appointed Neil Falcone as chief financial officer and Karen Meleta as chief communications officer Feb. 19.
Falcone was previously vice president of ShopRite Financial Services and corporate finance. He replaces 43-year Wakefern vet Doug Wille, who recently retired. Meleta is the retailer-owned co-op’s first chief communications officer. She’s elevated from Wakefern’s vice president of consumer and corporate communications.
Falcone started his Wakefern career at Price Rite Marketplace in 2007 before being promoted to director of ShopRite Financial Services. In 2015, he was promoted to vice president of SFS and corporate finance. Prior to joining Wakefern, Falcone held leadership positions with Waldbaum’s, A&P and Levitz Furniture.
In her new role, Meleta will continue to oversee all aspects of Wakefern’s communications, public relations and reputation management, while also driving stakeholder messaging across internal communications, public policy, sustainability, corporate philanthropy, media relations, crisis communications and government affairs. While with the company, Meleta has spearheaded sustainability efforts, with a special focus on developing programs to reduce food waste at the retail level and creating both seafood sustainability and animal welfare guidelines.
Prior to joining Wakefern more than 20 years ago, Meleta was a communications consultant to Fortune 500 companies including Unilever, Parke-Davis, Lancome and the Home Shopping Network. She also spent nearly a decade at Avon Products, Inc.
