Arslan Amjad
Senior Category Manager, Fresh Foods, 7-Eleven Inc.
• Supporting one of 7-Eleven’s most strategic priorities, to grow its fresh food business, Amjad develops the category and menu strategy impacting more than 1,000 stores in the Mid-Atlantic area. He challenges the status quo to meet higher standards and collaborates with the organization’s commissary partners to develop high-quality, innovative products that are relevant to customers, according to his nominator.
• Amjad was lauded for working with the retailer’s commissary partners to provide and serve samples for an event in Ohio, representing 7-Eleven at a high level to showcase the products that will be in a new commissary in the state in 2025. To date, the performance of 7-Eleven’s commissary products is growing as hoped, with a continued focus on remaining connected with consumer needs.
• He is committee chair of the Fresh Food Department’s Culture Transformation Team.
Recognizing the 2024
FUTURE
LEADERS
in convenience
The largest class of honorees yet was celebrated at an event in Des Moines.
Benjamin Amponsah
Regional Manager Northeast/Lead Trainer, smoodi Inc.
• Amponsah engages with all functions in the organization. As a regional manager, he is in charge of sales, servicing and customer success within his region. He further leads field marketing efforts and shares findings with the engineering team to continue improving smoodi’s solution. Additionally, in his newly appointed role as head of training, Amponsah onboards all new team members.
• With the ambitious goal for his region to set the standard for smoodi, Amponsah has grown his region by more than 300x in terms of deployments and by 500x in consumption per site within his short tenure at the organization.
• He received the annual smoodi MVP Award this March, which recognizes outstanding achievement and contribution beyond one’s core responsibilities.
Harman Aulakh
Vice President, Marketing, Onvo
• Aulakh joined the company in 2020 and led its rebrand from Liberty Travel Centers to Onvo, including development of the brand's visual identity. In the years since, he has overseen development of Onvo's new loyalty program along with its first app, the company's forays into electric vehicle (EV) charging, and all marketing and advertising campaigns.
• Most recently, Aulakh oversaw the development and launch of Onvo’s proprietary foodservice program, Food on the Fly, and led the efforts for the chain to become the Official Travel Plaza sponsor of Penn State Athletics for the 2024-2025 season.
• Aulakh serves as a member of the NATSO Marketing Committee.
Ash Aulds
Director of FP&A and Investor Relations, Murphy USA Inc.
• Aulds is spearheading Murphy USA’s (MUSA) financial planning and analysis (FP&A) transformation, developing a clear vision for the department’s future and implementing processes to enhance advanced financial analysis and integrated planning. In this leadership position, he serves as a vital link between MUSA’s executive team and communicating the company’s value proposition to investors.
• Prior to being elevated to his current position, Aulds led the analytics departments for the sales and operations, merchandise, marketing, and food and beverage organizations spanning MUSA and QuickChek Corp. Upon his promotion, he became the youngest director in the company’s history.
• Aulds received the prestigious Warhawk Ambassador Award from the University of Louisiana Monroe, which honors individuals who demonstrate outstanding loyalty and support to both the university and the North Louisiana/South Arkansas communities.
Convenience Store News' seventh annual Future Leaders in Convenience (FLIC) awards — presented Nov. 13 at an event in Des Moines, Iowa — honored a 2024 class that is the largest yet, comprising 49 rising stars from 31 c-store industry retailer, distributor and supplier companies.
The FLIC awards recognize young people (aged 35 and under) working in the convenience channel who are already making significant positive contributions to their companies and the industry at large. The winners were chosen based on nominations received from their companies and peers that spotlighted notable achievements over the past 12 months.
Spencer Bean
Director, Platform Solutions & Insights, PAR Retail
• Bean is focused on leading the evolution of the PAR Retail Data & Insights product and service offering. He ensures retailers have access to critical insights regarding their customer engagement programs, paired with strategic recommendations for how to leverage PAR Retail products to achieve their business goals.
• Over the last 12 months, Bean has led and supported a number of strategic projects at PAR/Stuzo, including the buildout and launch of the Open Commerce platform's support of EAIV and P+ programs. He also designed and led a number of wallet steering campaigns with retailers that drove impressive results, such as a 35% increase in customer fuel wallet share.
• He was presented with the Firefighter Award in 2023. This award honors employees who exemplify outstanding dedication and exceptional crisis management skills, a commitment to resolving unexpected challenges, and maintaining composure under pressure.
Erin Bonavita
Director of Corporate Accounting & Financial Reporting, EG America
• Bonavita has been instrumental in several significant projects and strategic initiatives. One of her biggest undertakings was helping EG America navigate a complex sale-leaseback transaction where the company sold land and building assets for 414 locations and then leased them back, generating $1.5 billion in proceeds.
• The certified public accountant also partnered with the financial reporting team to update reporting requirements with EG Group; worked on merger-and-acquisition accounting; participated in a debt project to restructure $6.1 billion in term loan facilities, including redenomination and re-tranching; and managed a clean and efficient external audit with no auditor identified findings — the fastest audit in EG America’s history.
• Bonavita is a member of the Women at EG employee resource group.
Annie Boone
Guest Experience Manager, North America, bp
• Boone oversees the c-store loyalty value proposition strategy for bp's U.S. convenience portfolio, delivering targeted offers and industry-leading promotions for Thorntons, ampm, TravelCenters of America and bp sites. Focused on being first to market, she collaborates with manufacturer partners to achieve true 1-to-1 targeted marketing, driving incremental transactions and market share.
• According to her nominator, Boone has maintained a 34% loyalty penetration rate across the Thorntons Refreshing Rewards platform. She’s also lauded for playing an integral role in a targeted tobacco promotion that has generated a 2% increase in total industry share of market for tobacco sales.
• Boone is a recipient of Energize Awards — an internal bp award system for those who go above and beyond their scope of work — from both peers and vendor partners.
Timothy Bortner
Brand Manager – Convenience, Hormel Foods Corp.
• Bortner was an integral contributor as Hormel Foodservice stood up a new specialized, go-to-market team structure within the foodservice division to support the c-store and unattended retail channel across the company’s snacking portfolio, retail brands portfolio and foodservice ingredients portfolio.
• He has been the lead catalyst for setting a culture of excellence within Hormel’s specialized c-store team, his nominator noted. Bortner was recently recognized internally with Hormel Foods’ coveted Courage Award.
• Over the last three years, Bortner has excelled in delivering relevant and timely innovation for the Planters and Corn Nuts brands, for which he received a 2024 Readers' Choice New Products of the Year award from Automatic Merchandiser in the salted snack category for Corn Nuts Mexican Street Corn crunchy corn kernels.
Alisha Boyer
District Manager, Casey's General Stores Inc.
• Boyer started her career at Casey’s as a part-time sub maker and quickly found that she had a passion for people. Climbing the corporate ladder, she was elevated to her current role in October 2022 and today leads 12 store teams totaling 205 employees.
• She provides coaching and mentoring to store management and team members during regular visits, and drives a successful culture in her district. According to her nominator, Boyers’ leadership has contributed to the company beating its turnover goal by 22.57%.
• In just over a year’s time, Boyer took her district from ranking in the bottom half of the company on overall performance to the top 20%. For her contributions, she was recognized earlier this year at Casey’s annual C3 Conference as the top district for controllable profit and food safety for the entire division.
Katie Brown
Corporate Counsel, OnCue
• Brown oversees OnCue’s in-house legal needs, primarily in the areas of real estate, financing and contract management. In her first few years with the company, she focused heavily on changes in the sale of alcohol across OnCue’s home state of Oklahoma. By helping the company stay compliant, OnCue now boasts the largest selection of craft beer in a convenience store in Oklahoma.
• She has achieved significant milestones over the last year, including the successful management and implementation of a standardized vendor contract process. She’s also been instrumental in overcoming challenging rezoning issues, leading to the acquisition of six new future sites between May of last year and April of this year.
• Brown is a member of OnCue’s 401K Committee and Real Estate Committee.
Colleen Ciccone
Recruiting Operations Supervisor, EG America
• Ciccone bridges strategy, operations and project management within talent acquisition (TA). Since being promoted in 2022, she is responsible for partnering on TA strategy, day-to-day administration of TA technology, taking the lead on technology initiatives, building out the company’s reporting library and mentoring members of the TA team.
• Using PowerBI, Ciccone bridged a reporting gap within the company’s current applicant tracking system, changing how the retail recruiting team prioritizes the recruiting needs of the organization and putting the team in a more proactive stance to identify and support the company’s talent needs, her nominator said.
• Ciccone is a past winner of EG America’s Values Ambassador Award and is active in the Women at EG employee resource group
Corbin Clark
Senior Manager, Pizza, Casey's General Stores Inc.
• Clark owns the development and execution of Casey’s pizza business strategy across the retailer’s network of more than 2,600 stores. He is responsible for pricing, promotion and innovation for the pizza category at Casey's, implementing new, innovative products through limited-time offer platforms and core menu assortment additions.
• Through the end of Casey’s fiscal year in April, Clark drove growth in the whole pie business after nearly two years of unit declines. He’s also made promotional strategy changes to the single slice business that have driven growth.
• Clark was named Casey’s 2024 Category Manager of the Year and recognized at Casey’s annual C3 Conference with the Commitment Award earlier this year.
Stephanie Daniel
Director of Loyalty, GPM Investments LLC
• Leading GPM’s digital strategy, Daniel manages the company’s loyalty program and digital customer experience. In this capacity, she guides the efforts of various departments to create and implement compelling messaging to drive excitement and understanding of loyalty marketing promotions.
• In her role, Daniel is charged with designing the company’s digital roadmap and maintaining progress against digital objectives. She was lauded for developing the digital capabilities required to participate in Altria’s Digital Trade Program, helping to introduce age-validation technology to GPM’s digital app to ensure responsible marketing practices. She also launched delivery capabilities and services for participating stores.
• “Stephanie’s abilities to manage and advance important work forward, build technical capabilities and maximize resources gives her the opportunity to advance further in her career at GPM,” her nominator stated.
Natalie Davila
Key Account Manager of West Coast, Convenience Accounts
Guayaki Yerba Mate
• With a focus on the brand’s biggest markets in California, Davila is responsible for growth within established accounts and new retail opportunities. According to her nominator, she embodies Guayaki’s market-driven regeneration business model — an approach that takes lessons from regenerative agriculture to deliver sustained growth that creates value for retailers and communities beyond a single bottom line.
• Within a year, Davila secured ampm as a new convenience retail partner, elevating the brand to the No. 1 ready-to-drink tea spot. She has achieved a 28% year-to-date volume increase in California and a 92% increase in accounts buying in the West.
• Davila was recognized by Guayaki CEO Ben Mand on a recent All Hands Call for her measurable impact on the company’s 2024 performance.
Melissa DeHaan
Business Development Manager, C.A. Carlin
• DeHaan joined C.A. Carlin in September. She was previously the category manager for candy and snacks at CEFCO and was nominated for her achievements in that role. At CEFCO, DeHaan’s sphere of influence spanned multiple departments during promotional periods to support new product launches or drive sales for existing merchandise. She was also a key member of CEFCO’s new store opening team, representing the category management department during grand-opening week.
• Within her first year at CEFCO, DeHaan successfully launched the new private label brand of Y'ALL snacks through collaboration with the company’s marketing, CEFCO Rewards, procurement and operations teams. Additionally, she established new processes for launching key initiatives across CEFCO to include field communication, field execution tracking and field support.
• DeHaan earned the highest marks for her performance in 2023 and received the President’s Well-Deserved Recognition Award.
Brett Ellerbroek
Manager, Analytics Center of Excellence, Casey's General Stores Inc.
• Since joining Casey’s in 2022, Ellerbroek has made significant positive impacts to the analytic maturity and culture of the company, according to his nominator. He established an Analytics Center of Excellence, launching an enterprise test-and-learn practice and spearheading a business intelligence (BI) modernization project in just over a year.
• Within just two weeks of full rollout, the BI reporting solution was actively being used in 2,700 stores by 9,000 users. It not only saves valuable time for team members, but also improves data-driven decision-making and collaboration across the field.
• Ellerbroek recently completed Casey’s Leader Excellence Certification.
Holli Erskine
Senior Manager, RGM Brand Programs, Juul Labs Inc.
• Erskine drives the loyalty component of Juul’s Revenue Growth Management (RGM) programming, with a focus on acquisition and conversion. Last year, she built out programming to drive Juul’s engagement with adult nicotine consumers, which resulted in a 10x increase in adult nicotine consumer trial and conversion.
• For transitioning Juul’s loyalty program from external vendors to in-house, which resulted in savings of more than $1.5 million, Erskine received the Juul Embrace the Challenge Platinum Award from RGM leadership.
• A former Marine, she was previously colead for the Juul Military Community employee resource group and is deeply involved with initiatives across the company that support volunteer and donation efforts with veteran and military service organizations.
Stacy Fields
Director of Marketing Technology, Krispy Krunchy Foods LLC
• Fields coleads Krispy Krunchy Chicken’s social media and media buying strategies while working with agency partners to create engaging content that fosters customer interaction. Under her leadership, the brand’s social media channels have grown into essential platforms for consumer engagement and brand awareness.
• In the past 12 months, Fields has significantly contributed to the brand’s growth and innovation in marketing and technology. She spearheaded the integration of third-party delivery services and implemented a system to integrate all delivery platforms onto a streamlined single-tablet ordering solution, resulting in the first optimized and supported delivery program for the store-in-store concept.
• Fields is a member of the “Chicken Coop,” a team of leadership members who collaborate on issues the brand is facing and work together to identify and solve problems.
Sergei Finkler
ATM Lead, 7-Eleven Inc.
• Finkler started his career at 7-Eleven in 2010 as a store leader, gaining experience in operations before later returning to the corporate side where he now oversees the company’s ATM operations.
• Earlier this year, he led successful enterprise efforts to complete an expanded partnership agreement with FCTI that will add ATMs to an additional 3,000 7-Eleven stores by the end of 2025. He also drove efforts to pilot ATM store cash deposits and led ATM contract renewals for all the company's U.S. and Canada stores.
• Finkler is known for leveraging his in-store experience to drive operational excellence through key vendor relationships, and strategic initiatives in financial services and store simplification. He is currently overseeing the testing of advanced functionality, further enhancing ATM capabilities across the company.
Lauren Freisenhahn
Associate Marketing Manager, Ecommerce, Culture & Social Media, 7-Eleven Inc.
• Freisenhahn leads social content planning, publishing and community management across social channels for 7-Eleven’s brands. She also works with outside agencies from briefing through execution, and leads all influencer campaigns.
• Last year, she played a pivotal role in driving 300,000 new followers to the 7-Eleven and Slurpee social channels, surpassing the 1 million follower milestone on 7-Eleven’s Instagram. She was a key supporter of the Slurpee rebrand and social strategy revamp as well.
• Freisenhahn is known for pushing her team to explore new ways to make Slurpee relevant in the social space and for embracing new opportunities as the team evolves. Her initiative has led to multiple reactive opportunities and viral social media collaborations.
Anne Frey
Design Manager, n-House, 7-Eleven Inc.
• At n-House, 7-Eleven’s in-house creative agency, Frey leads a team that supports the customer relationship management transformation project, paid media and event design. Her role in innovative solutions such as click-to-claim promotions and hyper-targeted audiences led to significant improvements in measured engagement.
• Her recent accomplishments include adding paid digital media and out-of-home creative to her team’s scope, leading to the implementation of new processes across the full creative team and its partners. She also boosted team efficiencies.
• According to her nominator, Frey is a leader and innovator whose proactive efforts and design work for the company’s annual conference, style guide, general speech presentation and a significant portion of the Learning Center have pushed the team much farther ahead than it was one year ago.
John Ganas
Field Merchandising Director, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K
• Ganas oversees the development and execution of merchandising strategies for Circle K’s South Atlantic Business Unit. In addition to managing product selection, pricing and placement, he conducts sales data analysis to identify trends and make key inventory management decisions.
• In his previous role as fuel director, he led projects to ensure environmental compliance across more than 400 locations and spearheaded initiatives to ensure sites met new EMV compliance standards. He also played an integral role in launching the Inner Circle loyalty platform, which achieved a 20% penetration rate within six months.
• Ganas is a leader who consistently provides guidance and support to ensure alignment with company goals and standards, directly contributing
to Circle K’s overall success, his nominator noted.
Vaughn Gessner
National Account Executive, CAF Outdoor Cleaning
• Gessner oversees the onboarding and program launch for all new CAF customers in the North American convenience channel. He is responsible for developing the company’s outreach strategy to the top 100 convenience store companies and beyond.
• He recently closed on the largest major oil brand program in CAF’s history, implementing programs that pushed two of his partner program participants to the top three in the 2024 Mystery Shop Audit. He also developed creative programs with oil dealers and jobbers to keep brand standards high.
• According to his nominator, Gessner is a subject matter expert and a constant go-to for problem solving, creative communications and stellar customer service.
Shelby Harman
Program Manager, Casey’s General Stores Inc.
• Harman oversees the technological backbone that supports Casey’s expansive network while efficiently managing budgets, timelines and logistics across multiple projects and guiding cross-functional teams toward strategic goals.
• In the past year, she led the charge in modernizing Casey’s IT infrastructure; successfully coordinated vendors and services for the conversion and opening of new or acquired stores, beating the company’s strategic goal of 100 stores per fiscal year; and oversaw Casey’s store visualization program, driving it toward successful execution within a tight 15-month timeline.
• Harman is known for her keen eye for detail with a strong ability to optimize processes and foster collaboration, making her an invaluable role model to her team.
Jeffry Harrison
Cofounder & President, Rovertown
• Harrison’s passion for entrepreneurship at a young age led him to start Rovertown with his two business partners. As president, he oversees sales, customer success, human resources, legal and finance. His contributions have led to the company’s explosive growth within the convenience store industry.
• His influence on sales and commitment to customers’ happiness have led Rovertown to double revenue for five years straight. According to his nominator, the company’s continued achievements would not be possible without him.
• Harrison is responsible for guiding multiple key initiatives within Rovertown, such as partnering with top technology companies to ensure retailers have the best options for loyalty, mobile pay, ordering and more. Earlier this year, he coordinated the company’s RoverRetreat event, a first-time team meetup for the remote company.
Amir Hassan
President of Operations & Retail, H&S Energy Group
• Hassan leads the retail and operations team at H&S Energy while assisting with mergers and acquisitions at the company. During its recent acquisition of Andretti Petroleum Group, he played a key role in the merging of retail operations.
• Additional accomplishments include the initiative to add mobile ordering to the company’s Power Market app, and contributing to H&S Energy’s growth of more than 150 stores during his time with the company.
• Hassan is a committed leader who is “just getting started” and is on the path to a major leadership role in the near future, his nominator stated.
Haley Hess
Regional Sales Manager, GPM Empire LLC
• Hess oversees a team of territory managers across the state of Texas who collectively partner with more than 400 accounts, while developing creative strategies to business and implementing action plans to meet sales and growth targets.
• She was the first person at GPM Empire to sign a subjobber agreement, which provided an extraordinary growth plan for the company. She’s also led her team to become one of the organization’s top-producing teams and a key element of the company culture.
• Hess was recently recognized with a Visionary Excellence Award and is regarded for her continuous efforts to empower others and promote a culture of success.
Hilary Hoffman
Manager, Supply Chain Efficiency, Casey’s General Stores Inc.
• While managing the day-to-day operations of her team, Hoffman oversees the operational procurement of approximately $2 billion in spend and 11,000 suppliers at Casey’s, where she is also responsible for the implementation, adoption and governance of new programs and initiatives across procurement and the broader supply chain.
• In the last year, she played a key role in streamlining Casey’s supplier onboarding process; helped reduce the company’s invoice processing time by implementing a two-way match process that cut cycle time by 38%; and implemented a spend consolidation and normalization platform.
• Described as a tenacious high-performer, Hoffman is frequently called upon to aid with difficult cross-functional issues and continually grows her own expertise through a variety of learning opportunities.
Bronte Jagodzinski
Project Manager, Emerging Technology, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K
• Jagodzinski is part of Circle K’s global technology team, where she is a significant contributor to the LIFT team, the convenience retailer’s in-store digital advertising and upselling platform. During a significant LIFT reorganization, she led the transformation efforts while focusing on improving team moral, product efficiencies, stability and the prioritization process.
• According to her nominator, Jagodzinski’s leadership in transforming the LIFT team to a product operating model significantly improved collaboration, camaraderie and productivity within the cross-functional team.
• She is known for her skills at simplifying complex challenges and improving ways of working, ultimately having a significant impact on Circle K stores around the world.
Jami Johnson
Regional Manager, Swisher
• Johnson is responsible for servicing 13 distributors and two chains while managing five territory managers throughout New England. She utilizes her expert knowledge of sales data and market trends to drive performance and increase sales and profits.
• In her current role, she develops her team by hiring and building up multiple new members while adding new commitments. Her leadership enabled the team to gain a 103.8% volume increase throughout the region on sales in the company’s priority segment, while launching a new brand into the market.
• Both company veterans and newer employees turn to Johnson for her market knowledge and feedback. She is expected to continue growing as a strong leader within Swisher, her nominator pointed out.
Samantha Jones
Director of Engineering, RaceTrac Inc.
• Jones leads RaceTrac’s pre-construction and new store development efforts across multiple states, overseeing nearly 100 projects at any given time and supporting special initiatives such as EV charging and innovative store designs. Her leadership has directly contributed to new market growth and positive development in established markets.
• Her recent accomplishments include leading RaceTrac’s EV charging station growth initiative, which included developing a basis of design for self-funded and grant-compliant charging station installations.
• Within RaceTrac, Jones is known as a well-respected leader who isn’t afraid to push back and always has her team’s best interests in mind. Her nominator noted that she is a force within the c-store industry, a trusted leader within the organization and a mentor to many.
Truitt Key
Category Manager – OTP, Murphy USA Inc.
• Key supports store operations by determining product assortment, pricing and promotions to drive customer traffic and profitability across the tobacco category. His primary focus includes innovative tobacco products such as nicotine pouches and vapor.
• Among his key accomplishments, Key worked with a vendor partner to exceed combined volume target goals for certain products, making Murphy USA the only major c-store chain to do so. He also oversaw a complete revamp of the backbar in 900 stores.
• According to one of his nominators, Key has proven to be a strategic and visionary category manager who makes decisions not only for the current landscape, but also to set his category up for success in the future.
Balal Khan
Vice President, Technology & Strategy, Shahani Inc.
• Khan began working for the family business at a young age before going on to study mechanical engineering and working at Apple. He returned to Shahani in 2023 and now primarily oversees the company’s technicians and maintenance team, equipment selection, and future technology initiatives from pricing to in-store experiences.
• His achievements in the past year include launching a brand-new app for tenants and dealers; implementing low-cost methods to remotely monitor sites; and obtaining federal and state funding for future charging initiatives.
• According to his nominators, Khan brings significant technical knowledge and work ethic to his role and is helping the company thrive and grow through new builds, acquisitions and expanded energy distribution in the Northeast.
Ben Lewenczuk
Assistant Treasurer, Casey’s General Stores Inc.
• Lewenczuk oversees all aspects of corporate and store treasury operations at Casey’s, including oversight of the Store Smart Safe program, managing corporate debt, cash management, monitoring corporate bank accounts and maintaining vendor relationships.
• Some of his recent accomplishments are completing full deployment of Smart Safes across Casey’s network; decommissioning the legacy banking model for a more than $2 million reduction in bank fees; and reorganizing the treasury team.
• Lewenczuk is known for his ability to drive efficiency and effectiveness, as his department achieves consistently positive results. His nominator called him “instrumental” in leading Casey’s treasury transformation, which led to a significant award for innovation in technology solutions.
Shawn Moody
Fuel Manager, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K
• As fuel manager for the West Coast Business Unit (WCBU) at Circle K, Moody oversees and optimizes fuel operations to ensure profitability while maintaining competitive pricing. He develops and implements pricing strategies based on market trends, competitor analysis and economic factors, and conducts thorough data analysis to identify trends, forecast demand and support decision-making processes.
• He played a crucial role in several acquisition projects, contributing to the growth of the WCBU's store count. Moody also oversaw the Forecourt Improvement Project, managing $2.8 million for the project. He is currently part of the company's succession plan for fuel director within his business unit.
• Moody began working for Circle K following his graduation from Cal Poly Pomona with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics. With his exceptional numerical skills, he excels in his current role managing fuel margins, analysis, pricing and data management, according to his nominator.
Kathryn Morris
General Manager, TA Express, TravelCenters of America
• As a site general manager at TA Express Fair Play in South Carolina, Morris created a parts runner program for the truck service shop that cuts wait times for truck drivers. She also secured more business from the Mobile Maintenance arm of the business by establishing a cold-calling program to yards and trucking companies — this strategic initiative helped her shop break sales records and build a new customer base.
• Morris has worked to overcome labor challenges by developing a marketing plan that attracted nearly 100 applicants. In addition, she initiated employee appreciation events such as barbecue parties, field days and quarterly sales contests.
• She is a key member of a Learning and Development Panel with TravelCenters of America that has created multiple new training videos, work order inventory sheets and organizational tactics to help incoming truck service assistants.
Christian O'Brien
Franchise Business Advisor, bp
• With a territory encompassing 24 sites, O'Brien has built strong relationships with the franchisees and their managers to grow the business. His ability to share best practices and grow profitability for both the franchisee and bp has been recognized by cross-functional teams, his peers and the company’s leadership team.
• O’Brien created processes and tools for his team to simplify promotional preparation, and created a “Peer Ride Program” where the team checks each other’s stores with a set of fresh eyes to identify opportunities and best practices.
• In just over a year in the position, O'Brien has suggested multiple projects to better engage with the local communities. In 2023, he recommended setting up a booth at the California State Fair where visitors downloaded the retailer's app for a chance to spin a wheel and win prizes.
Margaret Ogren
Senior Business Director, Patron Points
• Ogren leads strategic third-party alignments that support retailer enablement. She ensures the realization of mutual goals and plays a crucial role in maintaining relationships with key vendor accounts, including meeting regularly, responding to their needs and ensuring they are receiving the highest level of service — helping to grow Patron Points’ customer base over the past three years.
• She headed a project to reorganize the Scan Data Department, which led to improved customer experience, increased efficiency and removal of barriers that were slowing down the onboarding process for customers.
• Ogren plays a key role with consumer packaged goods stakeholders and the execution of digital products and offers. Notably, her alignment with Altria Group Distribution Co. led to successful implementation of the AGDC Digital Trade Program and Personalization+ for many of Patron Points’ customers.
Alexa Ovens
Director, Technical Program Management, PAR Retail
• Since joining Stuzo, now PAR Retail, as an associate technical program manager in 2021, Ovens has been promoted three times — first to technical program manager, then to senior technical program manager, and finally to her current role where she has three direct reports.
• Ovens is known as the subject matter expert for PAR Retail's customer programs and platform implementations. She is regularly called upon to provide feedback regarding improvements and review of new functionality.
• Her portfolio of customers continue to exceed their business objectives, including an average of 88% growth in active monthly members year over year and 70% growth in total members year over year for the accounts she directly manages. In the past year, she successfully supported the seamless transition and redesign of an in-market program, and supported PAR Retail's largest customer rollout and program migration to date.
Olivia Parker
Outreach & Communications Manager, Parker's Kitchen
• Since joining Parker's Kitchen as a store recruiter in 2020, Parker has recruited more than 1,000 team members. She’s also led a number of highly successful charitable giving initiatives, including the Fueling the Community program, the Parker’s Community Fund and customer roundup campaigns.
• She played a vital role in the development of Union Mission’s Parker’s House for Women, which officially opened in September 2022 and is the Savannah, Ga., area’s only shelter for unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness. She coordinates ongoing volunteer opportunities for Parker’s Kitchen team members at Parker’s House, as well as Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia food bank and other nonprofit partners.
• Parker also established a new strategic partnership with Wounded Warrior Project, launching a highly successful roundup campaign to support local injured veterans across Georgia and South Carolina with Parker’s Kitchen matching 25% of all customer donations.
Rushi Patel
Manager of Diversified Energy, Metroplex Energy, RaceTrac Inc.
• Patel's main responsibilities comprise evaluating alternative fuels, including electricity and hydrogen, to help guide investment decisions in diverse fueling infrastructure options. He builds out business cases for these fuel sources and manages the rollout of alternative fuel infrastructure at existing and future RaceTrac stores.
• Over the past 12 months, he increased the number of EV charging stations from zero to eight at sites in Texas, Alabama and Georgia, with more to come. In doing so, he has diversified RaceTrac’s fuel portfolio and enabled the company to meet the needs of every guest, no matter which fuel they choose to use.
• Patel is a contributor to the “Roadmap of Standards and Codes for Electric Vehicles at Scale” by ANSI (American National Standards Institute), developed by the Electric Vehicle Standards Panel. He also serves on PEI's RP1800 Recommended Practices for Vehicle Charging Installation at Fueling Facilities Committee.
Nicole Petersen
Marketing & Communications Manager, PDI Technologies
• Since joining PDI Technologies in 2021 when the company acquired GasBuddy, Petersen has become a maven at developing data-driven narratives that provide industry analysts and media with timely insights into gas price trends. She was elevated to her current role in 2023.
• One of her standout achievements is the recent launch of the thought leadership campaign, “The Truth About Gas,” following a period of record-breaking gas prices. The campaign aims to demystify how gas prices are set, particularly during a U.S. presidential election year. Additionally, for the kickoff of the 2024 summer travel season, she launched a successful GasBuddy campaign around Memorial Day that significantly boosted the brand’s visibility and encouraged app downloads.
• Petersen is a core team member shaping the launch narrative and rollout of GasBuddy 3.0, the app's transformative redesign currently underway.
Kiley Schranze
Assortment Manager – Alcoholic, Private Label & Dairy Beverages
Wawa Inc.
• Schranze joined Wawa in 2019 after working in the coffee industry and started in a marketing support role, overseeing all new item onboarding for both packaged and foodservice goods. She now leads Wawa's second biggest portfolio of categories in packaged beverages. She has full profit and loss ownership of the alcohol, iced tea, juice and dairy categories; and manages assortment and vendor relationships.
• Under her leadership, Schranze’s categories grew above expectations, landing in the top quartile relative to top- and bottom-line growth across all packaged and foodservice categories for three straight years. She also was assigned as the team lead for Wawa's private label long-range planning team.
• According to one of her nominators, Schranze was celebrated in 2023 as being "exceptional" with “high potential,” putting her in a small group of peers that the organization believes can handle an accelerated career track.
Derrel Simmons
Associate Category Manager, Yesway
• Simmons joined Yesway four years ago as merchandising coordinator and was promoted to associate category manager two years ago. In his current role, he supports several category managers, including foodservice and tobacco, and serves as a liaison between the merchandising and marketing teams and operations.
• According to his nominator, Simmons is a natural born leader and has gained the trust of Yesway's internal teams to make things happen. He’s helped train stores on tobacco compliance, led resets across multiple categories, and has been instrumental in helping new stores execute against category plans to grow sales and margin.
• Simmons was recognized as a Prosper Accelerator by the Prosper Forum. The Prosper Accelerator Program brings together leaders in the foodservice and hospitality industry to foster the growth of emerging talent.
Amber Smith
Director of Creative Services, Krispy Krunchy Foods LLC
• Throughout her career, Smith’s dedication to innovative design solutions and strategic thinking has been evident. Her trajectory showcases a steady progression from design roles to managerial positions, culminating in her current role overseeing the creative direction at Krispy Krunchy Chicken, her nominator cited.
• Since being promoted to lead the creative services department in 2022, Smith has collaborated closely with brand leadership to initiate a creative evolution aimed at resetting the relationship that operators and customers have with Krispy Krunchy. This strategic shift is being rolled out across the system, positioning the brand for a fresh identity and enhanced customer engagement.
• Smith has worked closely with Chief Marketing Officer Alice Crowder in leading several crucial initiatives over the past year, some of which include developing a new menu and revamping photography for the hot food concept.
Andriana Stefak
Director of Risk Management, EG America
• Upon joining the risk management team as a junior team member, Stefak immediately began making an impact by taking on considerable departmental and managerial responsibilities. She is committed to excellence in leadership and results, improving overall team performance and enhancing cross-departmental collaboration, her nominator said.
• Over the past year, Stefak helped settle two of the organization’s highest exposure claims without litigation or a trial, resulting in considerable cost savings. In addition, she led an insurance renewal process that included bidding out to several carriers so that the company could choose the best option based on coverage and price.
• Stefak helped to create the convenience retailer’s Women at EG employee resource group, which launched in 2023. She’s also an active member of the company’s Engagement and Values Council and involved in EG America’s Inclusion and Diversity Council.
Sierra Szarowicz
Director of Category Management, Convenience, Constellation Brands
• Szarowicz started as an analyst with Constellation Brands and was quickly promoted to a category manager, ascending to a national account role before assuming her current position as director of category management. She leads a team of 10 associates responsible for the company’s second-largest convenience retailer, Circle K.
• In the last 12 months, she has contributed to growing Constellation’s business in Circle K by more than 10% and total dollar sales to more than $265 million. According to one of her nominators, Constellation was the largest growth contributor to Circle K's beer category and Szarowicz accomplished this by leading her team to be an objective business partner, doing what was best for Circle K to grow its beer business.
• Szarowicz was chosen as an internal coach for one of Constellation’s business resource groups, Early Career Professionals. Her team competed with 20 other highly talented teams, presented a new business idea to a panel of executive leadership team members, and was selected as the winning team whose idea will be put in place internally.
Eric Taylor
CEO, Taylor’s
• Taylor leads the third-generation convenience and fuel supplier, which is celebrating 70 years, with 12-plus sites and growth on the horizon. He joined the family business at a young age, stocking coolers and taking out the trash. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, he returned to the family business, taking on numerous roles in and outside the stores before taking on the CEO role.
• In the past five years, he has grown the company’s store count by reaching out to single-store operators in various communities to gauge their interest in one day selling their stores. While growing the footprint, Taylor has led the company through several large remodeling projects that brought in new and innovative ideas, along with adding key administrative staff to be ready for continued growth, and ensuring the company’s “people first” culture stays intact.
• Taylor also has focused on building the chain for future growth by strengthening inside sales, adding new food programs and committing the resources to them.
Courtney Trieger
Manager, Retail Asset Protection Support, EG America
• Trieger's career is a testament to her passion for innovation and teamwork, her nominator said. She joined Cumberland Farms in 2019 as a resource protection specialist. Following the company’s acquisition by EG America, she transitioned to supporting more than 1,600 stores. She advanced to resource protection specialist supervisor by 2020, and then took on her current role in 2023.
• Trieger is heading up a pivotal Workplace Violence Training Program that will empower team members to identify, prevent and respond to threats. Additionally, she is implementing a data analytics software solution to reduce shrink and increase profit margins, as well as spearheading a Drug Safety Exposure Protocol project to enhance safety against meth and fentanyl exposure.
• She is a member of the company’s Diversity and Inclusion Council and EG America’s PRIDE Alliance employee resource group.
founding and presenting sponsor
gold sponsor
silver sponsors
THE 2024 FUTURE LEADERS IN CONVENIENCE ARE:
Supporters of the 2024 Future Leaders in Convenience program include: founding and presenting sponsor Reynolds American Inc.;
gold sponsor Imagine; and silver sponsors The Hershey Co., Keurig Dr Pepper, McLane Co. Inc., Patron Points and PDI Technologies.