Market Basket Sisters Oust CEO Ally Bill Shea From Board Amid Feud

Market Basket’s three Demoulas sisters have voted to remove Bill Shea, the sole remaining board ally of suspended chief executive Arthur T. Demoulas, deepening a power struggle at the 108-year-old New England grocery chain. Shea said he learned of his 7 Aug. dismissal only after the vote, contending he was ousted for pressing the board to justify allegations that Demoulas planned a retaliatory work stoppage. The sisters, who hold 60% of the privately held company, accused Shea of placing Demoulas’s interests above the firm’s and of cooperating with the CEO’s public-relations team, according to a letter from attorney Harvey Wolkoff of Quinn Emanuel. The board put Demoulas on paid leave in May and has since fired two of his lieutenants; a Massachusetts court last week barred those executives from company property. An investigation into the alleged job action is nearing completion ahead of a mediation session set for 3 Sept. Shea, who had served on the board for more than 26 years, said Market Basket has expanded from roughly 60 stores and $2 billion in sales to about 90 stores and $8 billion during his tenure, arguing that the chain’s performance does not justify the board’s escalating actions.