February brought several executive shifts among convenience retailing executives. But in addition to these moves, the industry mourned the loss of well-known leader Lisa Dell’Alba, who passed away on Feb. 16.
Dell’Alba was CEO of her family’s 11-location c-store chain, Square One Markets, for 15 years. She was also heavily involved with NACS and the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association.
Here’s a recap of some c-store executive moves from last month. And here’s our executive roundup from January, in case you missed it.
EG America promotes two executives
EG America named Whitney Johnson as senior vice president of marketing and Robert Brown as its new vice president of branded QSRs.
Johnson’s promotion came less than a year after she joined EG America as its VP of loyalty and digital commerce, a new role for the company. She spent eight months in that position, leading the company’s loyalty program and go-to-market strategies, as well as developing short- and long-term growth strategies for loyalty, digital commerce, retail media and third-party delivery. In her new role, she continues to lead these segments while overseeing EG America’s tobacco business, guest services and other support functions.
Before Brown stepped into his new role, he served as the company’s VP of operations in its central division, according to his LinkedIn bio. Brown also spent time earlier in his career as a regional director for EG America in Colorado, where the company operates the Loaf ’N Jug convenience store banner.
Kayrouz Petroleum taps its first chief retail officer
Kayrouz Petroleum, which operates nine convenience stores in New England and aims to build out its retail division, named Barry Ahern as its first chief retail and people officer, Ahern confirmed by email.
Ahern will oversee Kayrouz’s retail team, which includes the company’s director of operations, category managers, store managers and employees. He also oversees the company’s HR policies and processes. Some of Ahern’s early priorities include assessing and implementing retail-level policies and reviewing and enhancing worker benefits, he said.
Minuteman Food Mart brings on new head of c-store operations
Southeastern convenience retailer Minuteman Food Mart named Ed Bitondo as its new vice president of convenience store operations earlier this month. In his role, Bitondol leads the “strategic and operational direction” for Minutman’s retail division, which includes more than 60 convenience stores across the Carolinas, he noted in his LinkedIn bio. He reports directly to Wesley Campbell, the company’s president of retail operations.
Bitondo joined Minuteman after spending the past decade as director of operations for BP-owned Thorntons, which operates more than 200 convenience stores across six Midwestern states. He’s also held various operations roles with CVS, Walmart and Best Buy.
Maverik promotes two executives
Maverik appointed Brian Hyde to vice president of optimization and Steven Rupe to vice president of finance, according to LinkedIn announcements from both executives.
Hyde has been with Maverik for a decade, first joining the company as a senior financial analyst in August 2015, according to his LinkedIn bio. He’s held several finance positions with Maverik since then, most notably as a director and then as senior director of financial planning and analysis. In the director position, which he held for nearly seven years, Hyde developed programs and systems to promote Maverik’s financial acumen, understanding and accountability, he noted in his LinkedIn bio.
Rupe has also been with Maverik for the past decade. He joined the company in June 2015 as director of accounting and became a controller — his most recent position — just over four years later.
Prior to Maverik, Rupe held auditor and controller roles at a variety of companies, including Pilot Flying J.
