LOS ANGELES, July 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unified Grocers, Inc. today announced that Mary M. Kasper has joined Unified in the position of Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Kasper joins the company from Fresh & Easy, where she served in a similar position providing strategic business and legal advice to its Executive Committee and private equity owners on retail strategy, third party business development for manufacturing facilities, business development, real estate, vendor relations, corporate financing and investor relationships. Previously, she held leadership positions in the legal field at Ralphs/Food 4 Less and Vons.
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In her new position, Kasper will be responsible for all legal activities affecting the company and its competitive position in the marketplace. This will include oversight of all litigation, M&A, corporate governance, securities, stock transactions with cooperative members, and corporate legal matters as well as management of the company's records retention department and outside counsel. Kasper will also manage the company's government relations program.
Kasper also will serve as Corporate Secretary and she will report to Unified President and CEO Bob Ling. "Mary is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in legal matters relating to the grocery business. Unified is extremely fortunate to welcome her as a member of our officer team," said Ling. "Mary will serve as a key advisor to the organization, interfacing with the Board of Directors and partnering with the senior management team members on all relevant functional and operational legal concerns. She will have a key role to play as we look to grow the business in the years ahead."
Kasper obtained her B.A. in English, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude from UCLA and her Juris Doctorate from the UCLA School of Law. She is a Los Angeles Business Journal Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award finalist and an active member of the California State Bar Association, Food Marketing Institute and California Grocers Association. Kasper is the Immediate Past Chair of CGA and the Chair of CGA's Government Relations Committee.
About Unified Grocers, Inc.
Founded in 1922, Unified Grocers is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries, which generated almost $4 billion in sales during fiscal year 2014, offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in the supermarket industry.
