September brought an expected change at the top of Alimentation Couche-Tard, along with two other shifts in upper management at that company. Meanwhile, Pilot welcomed a new VP while Parkland USA said farewell to one.
Below is more information on September’s top-level changes. And here’s our executive roundup from August, in case you missed it.
Alex Miller takes over as Couche-Tard CEO
Miller’s move to CEO at Alimentation Couche-Tard wasn’t a surprise — the company announced its decision months ago. But Sept. 6 was officially his first day in the new role.
Just the third CEO in the company’s 45-year history, Miller took the reins at a busy time for the Circle K parent company. The company is closing its acquisition of GetGo Cafe + Market and attempting to buy Seven & i, the parent company of 7-Eleven.
Miller joined Couche-Tard in 2012 as director of fuels, real estate and facilities. Since then, he served in several roles, including vice president of fuels, senior VP of operations and global fuels, EVP of commercial optimization and EVP of North America operations and global optimization before becoming chief operating officer in January 2023.
Couche-Tard names new EVP of North America operations
Alimentation Couche-Tard also last month named Louise Warner as executive vice president of North American operations and global commercial optimization.
Warner, who had been Couche-Tard’s senior vice president of global fuels since joining the retailer in January 2021, took on the role that Miller held before he became chief operating officer.
Prior to joining Couche-Tard, Warner held numerous leadership positions with Australian petroleum company Ampol, including chief commercial officer, interim COO, executive general manager of fuels and infrastructure, and president of Ampol’s operations in Singapore.
Couche-Tard names global head of food and marketing
Rounding out Couche-Tard’s September moves, Mette Uglebjerg took over as senior vice president of global food and marketing. In her new role, Uglebjerg will oversee foodservice and marketing across Couche-Tard’s entire c-store network. She first announced her new role in late August.
Uglebjerg joined Couche-Tard in 2012 when the retailer acquired Norwegian energy company Statoil Fuel & Retail, which Uglebjerg had been with for nearly 20 years, according to her LinkedIn and company bios.
Her first role with Couche-Tard was a senior director of marketing development in Denmark.
Uglebjerg steps into her new position after leading Couche-Tard’s Circle K business units and operations in Denmark for the past six years.
Pilot hires former Walmart workforce guru
Pilot Company named Jocelyn Caldwell as its new vice president of people and belonging.
Caldwell joined Pilot after spending the past three years with Walmart, where she was most recently the company’s vice president of workforce strategy and organizational development. In that role, Caldwell developed talent strategies, and predicted needed skills and roles for the company’s future workforce.
Prior to her time at Walmart, Caldwell was a talent partner for Sam’s Club, which is owned by Walmart.
Parkland USA VP of communications retires
Laura Varn retired last month after six years as vice president of people & culture and communications at Parkland USA, the U.S. division of Canadian retailer Parkland Corporation.
Before joining Parkland, Varn worked for more than 12 years with South Carolina power company Santee Cooper, first as VP of corporate communications and then as VP of human resource management. Other media relations and communications roles on her resumé include senior coordinator of media relations with energy company Southern Company, manager of corporate communications for Delta Air Lines and communications officer for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
Varn said she is going into “semi-retirement” and plans to pursue other projects after taking a break.
