Parkland Corp. shuffled the roles of three of its vice presidents in recent weeks, continuing a tumultuous month highlighted by its CEO announcing his departure amid a board takeover attempt by the company’s largest shareholder.
The Calgary, Alberta-based retailer — which operates about 200 c-stores in the U.S. — named Elliott Collyer as VP of growth and development in North America; Andrea Dafoe as VP of services and programs in North America; and Alison Manning as VP people and culture in North America.
A Parkland spokesperson confirmed all three shifts, noting that they are part of the company's strategy to bring its U.S. and Canadian operations together. This strategy commenced when Parkland appointed former CFO Marcel Teunissen as president of North America in December, the spokesperson said.
As VP of growth and development, Collyer will oversee the capital planning and deployment for Parkland’s retail and commercial business across both Canada and the U.S., he noted in his LinkedIn bio. His “functional responsibilities” will include network planning, real estate, construction, maintenance, and acquisitions and divestments, he said.
Prior to taking on his new role, Collyer was Parkland’s VP of retail fuel and store merchandising across its Canadian business for about four years, according to his LinkedIn bio. He joined Parkland in 2014 in corporate development, and also served as director of gasoline marketing and director of retail fuel and store merchandising.
Dafoe, who had previously been Parkland’s VP of services and programs for Canada, now works across the company’s entire North America operation. Dafoe oversaw Parkland’s Canadian services and programs for nearly two years, and prior to that, had worked as the company’s VP of commercial operational excellence and customer experience since 2021, according to her LinkedIn bio.
Like Dafoe, Manning is also extending her role from Canada to all of North America. She joined Parkland in 2009 as a human resources manager for the commercial fuels division and was the company’s director of human resources prior to becoming VP of people and culture in Canada, according to her LinkedIn bio.
Parkland’s latest VP shuffle coincides with the resignation of Bob Espey, who plans to remain with the company through 2025, or until it appoints a new CEO or completes its ongoing strategic review. Parkland is exploring several options for the future of the business in that review, including mergers, divestitures, acquisitions and even an outright sale of the company.
Espey’s resignation announcement came about a week after Parkland’s largest shareholder, Simpson Oil, launched a takeover attempt of the retailer’s board in a bid to restructure the business. More details regarding Espey’s departure and future board reconstruction will become clear after Parkland’s annual shareholder meeting on May 6.
