The 2024 National Association of Convenience Stores Show seemed to set off a firestorm of executive shifts at several of the country’s top c-store companies, including 7-Eleven, Circle K and EG America. Even NACS itself got in on the action, with President and CEO Henry Armour saying he will leave his post at the end of 2025.
Below is more information on the biggest moves C-Store Dive covered in October. And here’s our executive roundup from September, in case you missed it.
7-Eleven makes 3 food-focused exec moves
7-Eleven has been putting more focus on its fresh food and private label programs lately, and those efforts have been reflected in several new hires made by the world’s largest c-store company.
The retailer named Varun Khanna as director of product development for its private label brands on Sept. 30. In that role, he’ll focus on “ingredient-led product development” as he works with 7-Eleven’s merchandising, operations, logistics and procurement teams.
Khanna’s background includes a number of food-focused research and development roles, most notably with yogurt manufacturer Chobani.
Then in early October, the company made two major hires on the fresh food side, naming Brandon Brown as its new senior vice president of fresh foods and Benjamin Lucky its new senior director of fresh food development.
Brown is responsible for the strategic planning, sales and profitability of 7-Eleven’s fresh foods business, including its bakeries and commissaries. He joined 7-Eleven from grocery giant Albertsons, where he was the company’s senior vice president of own brands for the past two years.
Brown replaced Dave Strachan, who recently resigned from 7-Eleven to attend to family matters.
Lucky, meanwhile, said he will focus on strategic development in fresh foods in his new role. He joined from design agency King Retail Solutions, where he was strategic director of retail and foodservice. His work history also includes more than two decades with c-store companies like Cal’s Convenience, Dash In, Maverik and Ampm.
Circle K gets new head of global private label
Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent of Circle K convenience stores, also made a major personnel move in its private label division, naming Amy Jenkins as global head of Circle K’s private label and owned brands.
This is Jenkins’ first job in the convenience store industry. She joins Circle K after spending over four years with home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies, including serving as its director of private brands for the past year and a half
She succeeds Rodney Blanton, who left the Canadian c-store retailer after nearly two decades to become director of category management for Amazon Go.
EG America unveils 3 executive changes
EG America, the U.S. arm of global retailer EG Group, announced three exec moves in October.
EG America hired Mendy Meriwether to serve as its first vice president of food, dispensed beverage and QSR, starting Sept. 30.
“She will advance the company’s QSR brands and food service support teams, ensuring excellence across brand standards, development of core food operations, implementation of new and innovative initiatives, and execution of high-level campaigns,” the company wrote in a linkedIn post announcing the news.
Before joining EG America, Meriwether spent more than two decades in a variety of roles with convenience competitor Wawa.
EG America also named Joanna Benison vice president of transformation and strategy. She joined the company in February before taking on the new role in October.
“She will also oversee the company’s Enterprise Project Management Office and work to develop strategic capabilities to ensure the prioritization of critical projects,” a company spokesperson said.
Before joining EG America, Benison spent five years as project director for the Competition and Markets Authority in London, a governmental agency that seeks to address unfair business behaviors, and spent nearly a decade in a variety of roles with oil and convenience retail company BP.
Finally, the company named Diana Styles as chief human resources officer on Oct. 1. She has more than two decades of experience in HR roles for a variety of companies, including more than seven years in VP and SVP roles with shoe company Adidas.
TravelCenters of America names new CIO
TravelCenters of America named Murtaza Sitabkhan as its new chief information officer. Sitabkhan moves into the position after spending the past 15 years in various technology and supply chain leadership positions with TA’s parent company, BP.
He joined BP in 2009 as CIO of the company’s U.S. fuels value chains division before assuming digital leadership of BP’s global refining portfolio in 2015. He then became BP’s head of digital products for the company’s global supply chain and midstream divisions in 2020, where he oversaw the digital product strategy for BP.
Sitabkhan replaces Sandy Rapp, TA’s senior vice president and CIO since May 2020, who recently shifted to a new role within the company.
Pilot names head of data and AI
Pilot Company named Rakesh Srinivasan its senior vice president and chief data and artificial intelligence officer.
His previous roles have included the lead for strategy and analytics at business consulting firm Merkle, head of data and analytics with fashion platform Moda Operandi and chief data and analytics officer and head of consumer technology for pet retailer Petco.
Srinivasan will be responsible for using data, analytics and AI to help Pilot make informed decisions to drive growth and efficiency.
“Rakesh brings a new approach to leveraging the latest in analytics and AI,” said Andy Lupo, Pilot’s chief technology officer, in a LinkedIn post.
