Kayrouz Petroleum, which operates nine convenience stores in New England, has named Barry Ahern as its first chief retail and people officer as it seeks to build out its retail division, Ahern confirmed by email.
In his new role, Ahern will oversee Kayrouz’s entire retail team, which includes the company’s director of operations, category managers, store managers and employees. He will also oversee the company’s HR policies and processes.
Some of Ahern’s early priorities will include assessing and implementing retail-level policies and reviewing and enhancing worker benefits, he said.
His first day was Feb. 10.
Ahern’s hiring comes as Kayrouz Petroleum, which operates the Racing Mart and Cape Cod Farms c-store banners in New England, looks to grow its company-operated network. Keyrouz plans to grow through a combination of new builds and acquisitions, as well as potentially taking control of some of its 32 leased c-stores if they become available, Ahern said.
“We want to be able to get prepared for that growth by putting processes and procedures and a great team in place for that growth, which will also allow us [to] grow our support center staff over time,” Ahern said.
Ahern joined Kayrouz from Yatco, where he spent nearly two years as its vice president of retail operations, according to his LinkedIn bio. He has also worked as director of retail operations with fuel distributor Energy North Incorporated and VP of operations and HR for convenience retailer Verc Enterprises.
