Parkland Corporation has named Nora Duke to its board of directors, according to a recent press release.
“Nora brings extensive executive experience spanning human resources, sustainability, safety, operations, and customer service,” said Jim Pantelidis, chairman of the board. “We expect our Board and Parkland’s shareholders will benefit greatly from her expertise and contributions.”
During her career, Duke spent more than 35 years with the Fortis group of companies, a collection of electricity and gas utilities in North America, according to the release. Most recently she served as executive vice president of sustainability and chief human resource officer for Fortis Inc, the parent company of the group, until her retirement in June 2022, according to her LinkedIn bio.
Other positions included vice president of hospitality services and then CEO of Fortis Properties Corporation and vice president of customer and corporate services for Fortis subsidiary Newfoundland Power.
She has served on the board of the Institute of Corporate Directors since November 2022, and previously spent seven years on the board of the Slate Office real estate investment trust, according to LinkedIn.
Duke’s appointment to the board comes about two months after Parkland named two board members who were chosen by Simpson Group, a major Parkland shareholder. Those two board members, Michael Christiansen and Marc Halley, are investment managers with the Simpson Group.
The decision to let Simpson Group fill those seats came as part of a back-and-forth between Parkland and activist hedge fund Engine Capital, which wanted the conglomerate to divest its energy assets and become a pure-play convenience retailer.
Calgary, Alberta-based Parkland is the largest independent fuel retailer and second-largest c-store operator in Canada with 1,860 stores. In the U.S., Parkland supplies fuel to independently owned gas stations and operates 212 c-stores under a variety of banners, including On the Run, Hart’s, Superpumper and KB Express.
