BP has named Debi Boffa as CEO-designate and Babu Rajalingam as CFO-designate for TravelCenters of America following the oil major’s acquisition of the travel stop chain, according to an email from a BP spokesperson.
Boffa and Rajalingam are expected to coordinate the transition with current Travelcenters of America CEO Jon Pertchik and CFO Peter J. Crage over the next few months, the spokesperson said.
Boffa has been with BP since at least 2009, starting out at BP Australia, according to her LinkedIn profile. With BP proper, she held a number of positions in fuels, marketing and retail between 2012 and 2020 before being named president and CEO of Thorntons and vice president of convenience for the Americas.
Thorntons, which BP acquired in 2021, has more than 200 stores.
Earlier this year, Boffa was also named president of BP’s retail operating organization, putting her in charge of the company’s 200 company-owned and more than 1,000 franchised location U.S. convenience retail footprint. In addition to Thorntons, BP also runs the Ampm brand.
Rajalingam has been with BP since 1998, starting as a research engineer and then serving in a variety of analyst positions in the U.S. and London until being named Strategy Advisor for BP Corporate Strategy in 2007, according to his LinkedIn profile. From there, Rajalingam held a series of planning and strategy positions, until being named vice president of financial planning and analysis in 2020. In that position, Rajalingam had to deliver financial and operational insights, handle “all business group external reporting and Investor Relations processes including Stock Exchange Announcements, 10Q and 10K filings and Investor presentations” and oversee a department of more than 130 people.
The two had also been announced as part of TA’s new board of directors on May 15, along with Mayrena Margarita Castillo Cheng, Gregory A. Franks, Dennis E. King and Pertchik.
Boffa replaces Pertchik, who was brought in to TA for his “turnaround expertise” in 2019. That goal was successfully concluded with the BP acquisition. He will now work with the incoming executives to create a smooth transition.
BP expects the more than 280-location TravelCenters of America acquisition to help it create a “mobility site of the future,” with TA’s assets helping advance its convenience, bioenergy, EV charging and hydrogen “growth engines.”
