March was a busy month for c-store executive changes, starting at the top. Fomento Económico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), one of the world’s largest c-store companies, announced it formed a special search committee in its pursuit of a new CEO. And an even larger convenience retailer announced its CEO succession plan.
Additional firms saw executive shifts in finance, foodservice, marketing and other departments.
Below are details on eight executive moves C-Store Dive covered in March. And here’s the executive roundup from February, in case you missed it.
Seven & i names next CEO
Seven & i Holdings, parent company of international c-store giant 7-Eleven, named Stephen Dacus as its next CEO. He is expected to take over after Seven & i’s annual shareholders meeting on May 27.
Dacus, who is currently Seven & i’s lead independent outside director, has previously worked as CEO of multiple companies, including Walmart Japan Holdings.
He will come in during a transformative time for Seven & i, as it’s in takeover talks with Circle K parent company Alimentation Couche-Tard and is also preparing for a 2026 IPO of its North American operations.
Since that announcement, three directors have also left Seven & i’s board, including 7-Eleven Inc. CEO Joseph DePinto, who exited on March 9.
Onvo names new CFO
Onvo has named Stephanie Mihal as its new chief financial officer.
Before joining Onvo, Mihal spent her career with accounting firm McGrail Merkel Quinn & Associates, starting as a supervisor and working her way up to partner.
Mihal joins Onvo amid significant changes to its assortment and store design strategies, including expanding its fresh food and private label fuel programs.
Derek Gaskins joins BP
Derek Gaskins, formerly Yesway’s chief marketing officer, has joined BP as head of guest experience. In his new role, he leads teams for merchandising and buying, fresh food and proprietary beverage and store design, and development for BP’s, as well as Thornton’s, Travel Centers of America, Amoco, Ampm and Arco c-stores.
Gaskins joined Yesway — which operates over 400 c-stores across several states — seven years ago as senior vice president of merchandising and procurement before eventually becoming CMO.
Parker’s names Yesway veteran as VP of marketing
Gaskins was not the only Yesway executive to move into a new role last month. Parker’s Kitchen named Darrin Samaha as its new vice president of marketing. In his role, Samaha will develop and execute the overall marketing strategy for the southern c-store chain.
Samaha joins Parker’s from Yesway, where he was vice president of marketing for nine years. Before that, he spent nearly 14 years as chief creative officer and founder of digital agency Blue Coda.
Majors Management names new fresh food, loyalty leader
Majors Management named Billy Colemire as its senior director of fresh food, dispensed beverage and loyalty. He will help develop and execute strategic initiatives for those departments with a focus on keeping ahead of customer trends and improving operational efficiency.
Colemire joined Majors after nearly five years with Stinker Stores, where he was most recently VP of marketing and brand. In that role, he oversaw a number of upgrades to the company, including expanding its foodservice program and adding delivery and pickup to its mobile app.
Kwik Trip appoints new director of foodservice
Kwik Trip promoted Ben Wilson to director of foodservice. Before taking on this position, Wilson spent a quarter century in other roles with the retailer across its food safety and general operations teams.
Wilson’s promotion comes during a larger investment period for Kwik Trip’s food operations. The company revealed last summer that it was building a 280,000-square-foot distribution center in DeForest, Wisconsin, that would provide cold and frozen foods, as well as produce, to over a third of Kwik Trip’s c-stores.
Pilot taps Topgolf exec to spearhead brand marketing
Pilot Company appointed Kari Irons as its new vice president of brand marketing.
Irons most recently spent over two years as vice president of global brand marketing for sports entertainment company Topgolf. Prior to that, she held numerous marketing roles over the course of two decades with footwear and apparel brand Journeys, including SVP of marketing and direct.
“Leveraging Kari’s extensive retail-marketing expertise, we will continue to create exceptional experiences,” Pilot said in its announcement.
Parkland SVP departs amid strategic review
Ferio Pugliese, Parkland’s senior vice president of corporate services since December, departed from the company in February. He was responsible for the enterprise-wide planning, alignment and execution of Parkland’s people and culture, health, safety and environment, and sustainability strategies.
Pugliese joined Parkland in late 2020 as SVP of people, culture and health, safety and environment. Before Parkland, Pugliese was SVP for AirCanada.
