The board of directors of Big Y Foods Inc. has announced the following new appointments: Devyn Blais, of Ludlow, vice president of finance; John P. Fraro, of Somers, Conn., senior director of fresh foods; David J. Argento, of Guilford, Conn., director of pharmacy; James T. Billingsley, of Wilbraham, director of accounting; Iliana Del Valle-Colon, of Somers, Conn., director of deli, bakery and kitchen, and Amanda M. Pereira, of East Longmeadow, director of treasury.
Blais will provide strategic leadership, planning and direction for all financial management activities including accounting and financial reporting, cash management and financial services and financial planning and analysis. She reports to Theresa A. Jasmin, senior vice president/CFO.
Blais has over 18 years of experience within Big Y’s finance and accounting departments. She started in 2005 as a senior accountant, became assistant controller in 2010, was named director of accounting in 2016 and senior director of finance in 2022. Prior to Big Y, she worked in public accounting and as an internal auditor for a local retailer/manufacturer.
Blais has been recognized as a Top Woman in Grocery by Progressive Grocer in 2017 and has completed the National Grocer’s Association Executive Development Program. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Western New England University where she also serves on the Accounting Advisory Board that advises on curriculum for accounting students. In addition, she has been an adjunct instructor at their School of Business. Blais has served on Big Y’s Scholarship Committee, was a founding member of Big Y’s Friendship Fund, and is a steering committee member of their Y You Belong employee resource group focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Fraro will be responsible for all aspects of Big Y’s fresh departments including meat, seafood, bakery, deli, kitchen, produce and floral. He reports to Michael R. Cormier, senior vice president of sales and marketing. Fraro started at Big Y in 2005 as an assistant food service/kitchen manager after having held positions in meat, bakery and deli for 2 other retailers for the prior five years. In 2006, he was appointed sous chef at Big Y’s Fresh Acres Market and later in 2008 as their meal solutions manager. In 2009, he then became the company’s junior deli buyer followed by bakery sales manager. From 2014-17, he was deli sales manager, then produce sales manager until his 2017 appointment as director of deli, bakery and kitchen.
In 2017, Fraro was recognized as one of the 40 Under 40 Food Industry Rising Leaders by the Griffin Report of the Northeast and in 2020, he was a Shelby Report’s People to Watch. He completed the National Grocers Association Executive Development Program. Last year, he received the 2023 Emerging Leader Award by the Massachusetts Food Association.
Argento will be responsible for setting overall direction and goals for the pharmacy division, and the development and execution of programs, promotions, services and operational excellence for Big Y’s 33 in-store pharmacies. He will report to Nicole D’Amour Schneider, senior vice president of retail operations and customer experience.
Argento holds a RPh from the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. His experience spans from 1985-2006 at Bayer Pharmaceutical in several positions including sales and marketing, sales management, strategic planning and trade relations until assuming the role as pharmacy manager at CVS in 2007 and then at Big Y in 2010. By 2013, he was appointed manager of pharmacy operations in Connecticut and in 2020 became senior manager of pharmacy operations.
Billingsley will provide leadership, planning and direction for corporate accounting, inventory and financial reporting, ensuring that Big Y’s financial statements are compliant with evolving technical accounting requirements. He reports to Blais.
After graduating as valedictorian from Western New England University, Billingsley started at Big Y in 2005 as staff accountant in fixed assets and in 2006 became an inventory staff accountant. By 2007, he was named senior financial reporting project specialist and in 2011 as financial reporting manager until his role as senior accounting manager in 2018.
He has earned many achievement awards during his career both for his individual accomplishments and his contributions to several cross-functional team projects. He also completed the National Grocers Association Executive Leadership Program in 2023.
Del Valle-Colon will be responsible for all sales, marketing and merchandising for these departments. She began her retail career as a greeter at New York & Co in 1999 where she held several positions including cashier, co-manager and store manager until she joined Stop & Shop in 2002. She worked in various capacities including customer service manager/ assistant manager, perishable and non-perishable managers, division sales analyst, center store and general merchandise specialist and store manager. She joined Big Y in 2017 as a reserve store director followed by corporate deli sales manager and later corporate seafood sales manager. She reports to Fraro.
Del Valle-Colon has attended the University of Connecticut and the New York School of Interior Design. In 2019, she earned a Food Executive Program Certificate from Cornell University and in 2021 received a Future Leaders Certificate from the Food Marketing Institute. In 2014, she was awarded Stop & Shop’s Assistant Store Manager of the year and from 2016-17 was a member of their Women Adding Value team. While at Big Y, she has been a member of Women L.E.A.D, Big Y’s employee resource group focused on empowering women leaders for their personal and professional development. She was named a Progressive Grocer Top Women in Grocery in 2015.
Pereira will report to Blais. Pereira joined Big Y in 2014 after several years in public accounting. At Big Y, she started as a manager of accounts payable and fixed assets. She went on to accounts payable and accounts receivable manager, treasury manager, and senior treasury manager until her current appointment. In her new role, she will provide leadership, planning and direction for accounts payable and receivable, fixed assets, store accounting and financial services across all areas of the company.
Pereira has been recognized with several outstanding achievement awards during her time at Big Y and was a member of Women L.E.A.D. employee resource group focused on inspiring and empowering women leaders for their personal and professional development. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Bryant University and her master’s from American International College. She also completed the National Grocers Association Executive Leadership program in 2023.
