KENNETH

BURROUGHS:

OUR MAN IN THE “MARKET”

By Frederick A. Hurst

I first met Kenneth Burroughs in the mid 80’s when he was dating my daughter when both were students at the now-defunct Springfield Classical High School. I lost track of him after they graduated and she went her way and he went his. Back then Ken, who grew up in simple surroundings under strong parents, was a very distinct character: strong, honest, outspoken, self-confident, determined and apparently secure within himself. My read of him was that no obstacle would deter him from success and, though as her father I wouldn’t dare intrude, I concluded that Ken would have made a wonderful lifetime mate for my daughter.

Many years later, at a chance meeting, Ken and I reconnected and I learned in conversation that he had lived up to my initial assessment. He reaffirmed the fundamental belief of many that being raised by strong, principled parents trumps most environmental negatives. Unknown to me, and, I’m betting for the vast majority of you, Ken had become a significant part of many of our daily lives in western Massachusetts as the manager of the 13 Stop and Shop supermarkets in the food retailer’s Western Massachusetts District.

That’s right! When you go to Stop and Shop in West Springfield or on Boston Road in Springfield or in Northampton or Westfield and when you observe the current construction of the super Stop and Shop underway on Cooley Street in Springfield, these and more are all under the management of Springfield and Mason Square’s own Ken Burroughs. I know I shouldn’t write this because it is open to several interpretations, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was buying my groceries from a Black man from the “hood.”

Ken was raised on Springfield’s Westford Circle by Watars and Bessie Burroughs. Watars, with a year of college, came to Springfield by way of the Air Force from his home in Lake City, South Carolina. Bessie left Aliceville, Alabama, a town of 3,000, after high school in search of “something different.” They had two kids, James in 1962 and Ken in 1967. Watars retired from his job at Pratt and Whitney and Bessie from her job as a nurse’s aide at the former Springfield Municipal Hospital. As Ken describes them, “They were crazy strict but we appreciate it now.”

And well they should. Both brothers graduated from college and moved up, Jim from Springfield Technical Community College and on to a contracting career in Washington, D.C. and Ken to a career in business after graduating from Boston University in 1989 with a degree in Political Science and International Business.

Fresh out of college, Ken joined Liberty Mutual Insurance Company as a claims adjuster for two years. After that, Stop and Shop hired him in the corporate risk management department where, from 1991 to 2000, he handled workers compensation and related matters for the entire company. In 2000 Ken was promoted to Director of the Human Resources for the Connecticut Division of Stop and shop, where, operating out of New Haven, he functioned in labor relations, union grievances and arbitration from 2000 to 2004.

But, consistent with that ancient corporate tug of war between staff and line, the real Stop and Shop action was in operations and Ken wanted it. He moved back to his hometown of Springfield and assumed the role of District Manager for the Berkshire and Northern Connecticut District. He was soon transferred to his current job as District Manager of the 13 stores in the Western Massachusetts District, where he has quietly engineered a tremendous success story.

You can feel Ken’s intensity and infectious energy as he describes his job as Western Massachusetts District Manager. It is a personal challenge for him to meet and exceed sales projections and to expand the profitability of his district while pleasing Stop and Shop customers and hiring and managing the staff he needs to accomplish the entire task. He is as much at home discussing the pricing requirements for summer corn and Thanksgiving turkey in individual stores as he is keeping tabs on sales revenues and profit margins and personnel requirements for his entire District. And he deftly speaks of them all in the context of the entire company strategy, which is designed, of course, to outsmart the external competition.

But, it is Ken’s sensitivity toward the people who work for him and who must deliver his results that is most attractive. He firmly believes that people are the key to success and if they know you care about them and you are honest in your dealings with them, they will produce for you as long as their responsibilities are clear and the results measured uniformly across the board.

But, what is most pleasing about Ken Burroughs (and I admit bias) is his commitment to the development of minority employees. He seeks them out, interviews them with a seasoned ear and hires them if they are qualified or, with reasonable support, qualifiable. And he is equally committed to mentoring them and growing them within his organization. He doesn’t just talk about it. He’s proud of it and he gushes about it! And he continues his search for more minorities who are not afraid to work their way up within his organization.

And Ken enjoys corporate support, which I had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand. I visited Stop and Shop headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts where I was also impressed by the minority representation. As we ate lunch in the Stop and Shop corporate headquarters cafeteria, Ken was repeatedly interrupted by current and past colleagues, who were obviously pleased to see him back in his old haunts, even if for only the day. As he introduced them to me one-by-one, a common theme weaving through their comments was about how Ken had been so helpful to their careers.

Three years ago Ken married Giselle Rose, a Panamanian who works as a research analyst for a national research company that services insurance companies worldwide. They have no kids and she says it is because “She has enough kids, him.” They are both busy with great careers but they do plan to have kids eventually.

Ken really pulled it all together in my mind when he informed me that he is a golfer and invited me out for the next golf season. He claimed that his game is “okay” but that he is an “excellent putter,” has “great distance” but his “consistency (is) still developing.” Of course I said to myself, “Thou doth protest too much,” and before I join him on the course I won’t forget to spend some time on the driving range.

Ken is part of an expanding Black presence in corporate management in America. He glides smoothly through corporate corridors deftly interacting with people from all walks of life while never forgetting where he came from. But most of all, he does something that is fundamental to continued Black progress: He reaches back and he does so with determination and enthusiasm.