This year’s record class of 91 honorees illustrates how the industry is evolving to better recognize and cultivate female talent.
Founding & Presenting Sponsor:
Platinum Sponsors:
CORPORATE EMPOWERMENT AWARD SPONSOR:
Gold Sponsors:
Celebrating the 2024 Top Women in Convenience
A record-high class of 107 female leaders in the c-store industry
was honored at a sold-out event in Las Vegas.
WOMeN OF THE YEAR
Convenience Store News’ 11th annual Top Women in Convenience (TWIC) awards — presented Oct. 8 in Las Vegas, against the backdrop of the 2024 NACS Show — celebrated a record-high class of 107 female leaders.
TWIC is the first and still only c-store industry program that spotlights the integral role women play in convenience retailing and celebrates individuals across retailer, distributor and supplier businesses for outstanding contributions to their companies and the industry at large.
The 2024 Top Women in Convenience are:
Nikki Boyers
SENIOR-LEVEL LEADERS
Director of Brand Marketing
Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Kristine Anderson
Silver Sponsors:
• Anderson leads brand marketing efforts that support the sales and promotion planning process, creative development brief and the execution of store-level marketing. She also oversees the retailer’s Brand Center of Excellence and leads the daily management of Casey’s relationship with its creative agency, Tombras, which she helped to onboard.
• In 2023, Anderson led the marketing strategy and execution of major Casey’s campaigns, including the launch of thin crust pizza and an 89-cent fountain drink promotion. The latter not only saw Casey’s best inside guest count performance over a four-month stretch, but also resulted in holding onto 50% of its promotional lift.
• Anderson was honored as a 2022 Convenience Store News Future Leader in Convenience.
RISING STARS
Mentors
TWIC
Barbara Stoyko
Louise Warner
PRODUCED BY
Elizabeth Hoffer
Ali Marciano
Director of Sales for 7-Eleven
Mondelēz International Inc.
Katie Bennett
Customer Service Project Manager – Branded
U.S. Energy
Lorie Beyer
Head of Insights
& Data Analytics
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Inc./Circle K
Guninder Bajwa
Founder, CEO & President Proxy Retail Group Inc.
Anne Brockhaus
Director of Category
Management
Constellation Brands
Megan Carlson
Director of Marketing
Clipper Petroleum Inc.
Lynn Cleveland
Director of Global Inside Sales
The Hershey Co.
Amy Bucks
Senior Director, People & Culture Business Partner for Manufacturing & Supply Chain
ITG Brands
Shanah Coffey
Chief Marketing Officer
Krispy Krunchy Chicken
Alice Crowder
Senior Director
of Trade Marketing
Reynolds American Inc.
Lisa Decuir
Sales Director for Core-Mark
& McLane Co. Inc.
Mars Wrigley
Catherine Cranfill
Category Manager
Lil’ Drug Store Products Inc.
Jodi Dlouhy
Senior Director, Brand,
Advertising & Media, In-Store Marketing, In-House Agency
7-Eleven Inc.
Marissa Eddings
Jessica
Fratarcangelo
Marketing Director
Cheyenne International
Vice President
of Strategic Sourcing
7-Eleven Inc.
Carina Duffy
Vice President, Total Rewards
Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Sherri Hart
Senior Director of Sales
Altria Group Distribution Co.
Anne Holland
Heather Horner
Vice President, People & Culture, Mobility & Convenience, Americas
bp
Director of IT Engineering
Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Mary Hodapp
Director of Commercial Marketing
McLane Co. Inc.
BreAnn Hudson
Owner
Go Time Convenience Stores
Kimberly King
Jessica Kovacs
Director of Foodservice
Team Sledd
Engineering Director
RaceTrac Inc.
Samantha Jones
• For more than three decades, Beyer has been instrumental in growing the business and strengthening relationships with
c-store customers. In her current role, her primary responsibilities are twofold: team development, including hiring, onboarding, training, coaching and counseling; and customer management of more than 700 c-store owners.
• Among her accomplishments, Beyer designed a new framework and implementation strategy
post-COVID called “Plan for Teamwork” to define how team members would reach out and
take care of their customers.
The plan has since resulted in significant improvement in company relationships, both internally and externally.
• She recently became Brand Champion for U.S. Energy, serving as the key contact to major brand partners and providing them
with the company’s platform
of program changes, promotions and site quality/customer service/cleanliness.
• Bajwa, who has a background
in electrical engineering complemented by an MBA, joined the c-store industry as an entry-level marketing coordinator at Statoil. When Statoil was acquired by Circle K, she built out the global data analytics team, which is responsible for analyzing loyalty app customer trends and developing ways to optimize various aspects of the business.
• As her nominator noted, Bajwa’s leadership is characterized by her commitment to helping others, while her approach to analytics focuses on actively listening to what the data communicates and subsequently devising innovative operational solutions.
• She participated in Circle K’s Global Leadership Forum, a development program that prepares top talent for leadership positions within the organization.
• Along with her leadership
of the 7-Eleven team at
Mondelez, Bennett oversees the multicategory business for the company. Her planning and strategy were credited with increased snacking promotional frequency and an enhanced Slurpee bundle offering, as well as consistent delivery of growth targets that bolstered category growth for 7-Eleven.
• Despite facing a cancer diagnosis in 2023, Bennett continued to display her perseverance and resilience, delivering a video message at the Mondelez team meeting that her nominator described as emphasizing her steadfast commitment to all the people around her.
•Bennett has since beat cancer
and returned to Mondelez, where she was one of three women selected to participate in the Women Unlimited leadership program. She also currently sits
on the NACS Content Committee.
• Bucks leads the 35-member Global Inside Sales (GIS) team, which sells to direct and indirect buying customers across the convenience channel and helps partners formulate collective plans to deliver the business through marketing programs and core distribution.
• Throughout the last year, the GIS team exceeded selling targets that were key in delivering the overall convenience business. Bucks took on additional responsibilities, including calls to her team for small chains, while also restructuring her purview to sell the Hershey Salty Portfolio through the first quarter of 2024.
• Bucks participates in Hershey’s Mentor Program and has been a mentor to many employees over her 22 years with the company. Her constituents often recognize her through leader feedback forums and celebrate her ability to create a culture of energy, pride and family.
• Carlson leads category management for several major c-store chains, including RaceTrac Inc. and EG America. Her team is responsible for all planogram work and category analytics, leading support on a $470 million business.
• Known by her team for her passionate servant leadership
and by her customers as a trusted advisor, Carlson and her team helped support incremental growth of $50 million on top of more than five years of double-digit growth across their c-store chain network. Her team was named Vendor of the Year by
one of its clients.
• An active participant in Constellation Brands’ mentorship program, Carlson has been nominated to attend the Harvard Emerging Executive Program and sits on an internal NACS committee where she represents category management.
• Cleveland is the brand
champion for Clipper, responsible for buying, merchandising and marketing throughout its network of 23 c-stores. She oversees the design, equipment and layout of both new and remodeled locations, serving as liaison between Clipper and its contractors on all major decisions. For the stores she has remodeled and since opened, inside and outside sales are up double digits.
• Active in the company’s philanthropic work, Cleveland leads the planning and execution of Clipper’s annual golf tournament fundraiser, which raises more than $100,000 for charity each year. Also committed to her team, Cleveland plans
three major offsite team-building activities per year to help refresh and reenergize her staff.
• She is an active member
of the Georgia Association
of Convenience Stores.
• As the head of Proxy Retail, Brockhaus shoulders multiple leadership responsibilities encompassing financial management, fostering a culture of excellence, promoting diversity and gender equality, and driving the company’s growth trajectory.
• Over the past five years, she has overseen a 300% growth rate for the company, as well as expansion of the team from a modest beginning to more than 50 employees. Proxy Retail has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies
in America.
• Recognized for her ability to navigate the challenges of a male-dominated industry, Brockhaus has worked to create a diverse and inclusive organization, with Proxy Retail joining the ranks of the Board of Women in Business and receiving certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
• Cranfill oversees more than $700 million in revenue at Mars Wrigley and coordinates with hundreds of indirect retailers to source their confections, snacks, health and wellness bars, and seasonal products.
• A key member of the convenience leadership team, she delivered increased return on investment
for trade shows and planogram execution in 2023, while also maintaining high engagement
with Mars Wrigley’s two largest direct shipment customers.
• Internally, she has been recognized with the Convenience Climber Award for delivering exceptional results in the face
of abnormal adversity, and membership in the Tie and
Scarf Club, which recognizes associates who live up to Mars’ Five Principles, give back to
their community and have a
track record of success.
• Over the course of her
first year with Krispy Krunchy Chicken, Crowder helped
to lead the company’s
aggressive growth trajectory by repositioning and expanding the brand’s identity to appeal to more convenience stores.
• A creative thinker and data-driven leader, Crowder launched the company’s first segmentation awareness/usage study, uncovering information about why consumers favor the brand, how they consider it and what they want it to be in the future. This overview helped her reshape how the brand presents itself to its operators, complete with recast signage, photography, brand language and a rearchitected menu.
• Crowder was previously named to the Georgia Titan 100, which recognizes the area’s most
accomplished business leaders in their industry using criteria such
as demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision and passion.
• In her role, Decuir leads a team of 113 who oversee 16 regions in four states, including more than 11,000 contracted customer partnerships and 200 key accounts. In 2023, her team drove 1,000 new vapor contract partnerships with various accounts, while one of her divisions hit No. 1 in product share market growth for VELO Nicotine Pouches.
• She currently mentors three employees reporting to different functions and maintains connections with managers in various roles to align with evolving business needs and support diversity and inclusion discussions.
• Decuir is a member of the company’s Women’s employee resource group (ERG) and was one of only two American Trade Marketing women selected for the British American Tobacco Global Leadership Program for Women Executive Leaders.
• Coffey works with ITG’s supply chain teams to champion their personnel plans in support of employee engagement and fostering a performance culture. She works to deliver growth through coaching and talent initiatives, serving as the head for several factory-based P&C leaders.
• A respected collaborator, Coffey coordinated with numerous departments to design and implement engagement activities during 2023, which resulted in
a marked increase in collective engagement scores. She additionally led half of the senior hires across the business, increasing the percentage of
women in senior roles from
30% to 37%.
• An active participant in the company’s internship and mentoring programs, Coffey is
a passionate proponent of ITG’s diversity, equity and inclusion work, serving as a member of the PRIDE Business Employee Resource Group.
• With a more than 20-year career spanning multiple industries,
Duffy joined 7-Eleven after its acquisition of Speedway in 2021. In her current role, she is responsible for the sourcing and distribution of all products and materials for 7-Eleven and Speedway stores.
• In 2023, she restructured her department to help meet the company’s cost-savings goals. Under Duffy’s leadership, her team delivered substantial savings and new initiatives, including negotiating multiyear data processing solutions, reducing store supplies costs, and helping the company’s digital team deliver time-saving innovations at scale.
• Duffy serves as a member of both the 7-Eleven Network of Executive Women and the ActivateHER women’s professional development program. She has participated in women’s leadership panel discussions to help further the growth and advancement of women across the company.
• Eddings oversees all activity related to advertising and media for 7-Eleven, including brand identity, paid media and brand partnerships, among other responsibilities. She guided development of the 7Collection merchandising concept, which
she still oversees, and also built
n-HOUSE, 7-Eleven’s internal creative agency.
• Last year, Eddings was responsible for 12 media campaigns, including Slurpee’s relaunch with a new look, logo and in-store cups. The campaign included the “Anything Flows” music video, which garnered more than 2 million streams on Spotify and more than 1 billion social media impressions.
• Eddings was named a Marketing Maverick of the Year by the
Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the
American Marketing Association. In 2023, she served as 7-Eleven’s representative to Leadership Dallas, a prestigious leadership development program
in the area.
• Fratarcangelo develops all marketing objectives, strategies and programs across Cheyenne’s brand and corporate portfolio.
This includes translating
marketing plans into actionable tasks and deliverables for the communications, advertising, product development, merchandising and branding teams, as well as analyzing industry, competitive and regulatory trends and data to develop effective product strategies.
• Her work has helped the company reach 33% share through marketing and coupon ideas. At the same time, Fratarcangelo continues to be exceptionally responsive to her department’s needs, according to her nominator.
• Recognized early in her career with Cheyenne’s Rookie of the Year Award, Fratarcangelo stays active in numerous industry associations, such as NACS, NATO and the Convenience Distribution Association.
• Dlouhy and her team oversaw
the store planogram recommendations on behalf of Maverik — Adventure’s First Stop, which contributed to Lil’ Drug Store winning the c-store chain’s 2023 Titanium Partner Award for Outstanding Partner.
• She serves as a subject matter expert for Project Elevate, Lil’ Drug Store’s new enterprise resource planning initiative, where she leads the category management side and provides insights into how the system needs to work not just within her department but across the whole organization.
• A trusted advisor and mentor
to her staff, Dlouhy is a member
of the ELT (Employee-Led Team), a group that executes initiatives that are not only important to employees, but also help
advance the organization.
• As director of engineering within Casey’s technology department, Hodapp leads a 30-member team focused on developing, maintaining and supporting solutions for merchandising and supply chain functions, both of which are critical to Casey’s operations. She also maintains oversight of an approximately $5 million budget for operating expenses.
• Hodapp must collaborate closely with other executives, business leaders, technologists and finance teams, while also providing support to her team. Her skill in the latter has resulted in a 14-point improvement in employee engagement year over year.
• A recipient of the Quarterly Team Member Spotlight, Hodapp also participates in the iWill resource group, where she shares her experiences with other Casey’s team members in order to assist them with their personal and professional journeys.
• In her current role, Holland maintains responsibility for more than 100 salaried sales professionals across 11 states, a team which generates approximately $2 billion in sales for Altria. She also heads up leadership development for Altria’s management development and new product distribution efforts.
• Passionate in her support for inclusion and equity initiatives, she implemented a companywide “Inclusion Day” where all of Altria’s ERGs provide content and learning to salaried employees, in addition to codeveloping a new manager training program.
• Holland spent the last two years as chair of Altria’s Women in Sales ERG, where her team led inclusive behavior training, provided a quarterly learning series highlighting minority female leaders, and launched an “Influencing With Confidence” training for the female membership.
• Considered a key member of bp’s Mobility and Convenience, Americas leadership team, Horner provides expertise related to organization design; talent management; diversity, equity and inclusion; performance management; and employee engagement to the company’s ampm and Thorntons brands, the bp and Amoco branded marketer business, and the Mexico-based mobility business.
• She led the people and culture functional execution of the Thorntons integration into bp — including a fit-for-purpose organizational design — and was integral to the company’s TravelCenters of America acquisition, developing the executive transition and stability priorities, “Day One” objectives and talent-retention schemes.
• Horner leads in both official and unofficial capacities, serving as a peer mentor to other team heads and acting as a member of multiple business resource groups (BRG), including bpWIN, Energia and Working Parents.
• Hart leads a 45-member team
in the areas of acquisitions,
HRIS, payroll, compliance, recognition, benefits, wellbeing and compensation to support Casey’s workforce across its
17-state footprint. She is also responsible for managing more than $1 billion in total compensation annually.
• Hart’s leadership in Casey’s
Total Rewards function helped contribute to lowering overall turnover by 35% over the last
year and increasing overall engagement scores by 6%
across the organization in the
past four years.
• Among her other accomplish-ments, Hart guided the integration of more than 1,200 new team members from more than 140 newly acquired stores; transitioned two states to a new sick leave policy; championed accelerating the company match for employees’ 401(k)s; and implemented a store team member bonus program.
Director of State Government Affairs ITG Brands
Ashlie Kuehn
Director, Shopper Insights
The Coca-Cola Co.
Stephanie McMahan
Laura Miller
General Manager
Big South Distribution
General Manager
Chester’s International
Alexis Lobodocky
Vice President of Marketing
Coen Markets
Andrea Neurohr
Fuel Supply
& Distribution Director
Giant Eagle Inc./GetGo
Shannon Patrick
Christina Pimenta
Head of Construction
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Inc./Circle K
Director of Loyalty & Digital Marketing
RaceTrac Inc.
Lanna O’Connor
Senior Vice President & Practice
Lead, Foodservice & Category Management
Impact 21
Liza Salaria
Senior Manager of Supply
& Replenishment
Wawa Inc.
Jodie Sikorski
Julie Smevoll
Senior Director, Sales – Circle K
PepsiCo Inc.
Amanda
Rose
Shymanski
Director of Marketing
Murphy USA Inc./QuickChek
Director of Loyalty & Rewards
Weigel’s Stores Inc.
Jessica Starnes
Amanda Thompson
Senior Director of Real
Estate & Development
Parker’s Kitchen
Director of Operational Systems
OnCue
Amanda
Taylor
Director, Sales & Operations III
Murphy USA Inc.
Diane Uhlenkamp
Director of Strategic Sourcing
Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Jessi Webb
Michele Yeeles
Senior Director, Category
Leadership – Small Format
Anheuser-Busch
Division Sales Manager
Advantage Solutions
Susan Ward
Category Manager
ExtraMile Convenience Stores
Michelle Abdollah
Retail Zone Leader
Kwik Trip Inc.
Kristy Bata
Lisa Blakeley-Snyder
Head of Recruiting
Road Ranger
Senior Director of Talent Acquisition
7-Eleven Inc.
Rachel Allen
Merchandising Director
Giant Eagle Inc./GetGo
Kimberly Borcherth
Operations Supervisor
RaceTrac Inc.
Nakisha Cabrera
Katie Clookie
Customer Management
Associate Manager
PepsiCo Inc.
Human Resources Information Systems Analyst
Yesway
Rachelle
Brewer
Customer Business Lead, 7-Eleven
Ferrara Candy Co.
Taylor Condon
Senior Brand Manager
ITG Brands
Emily Crites
Zornitsa (Zori) Dente
Manager of Shopper Marketing
Glanbia Performance Nutrition
Lead Operations Specialist
Altria Group Distribution Co.
Kathleen
Cook
Business Development
Integration Manager
Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Katie DeRouchey
Amanda Epperson-Winn
Senior HR Specialist
Core-Mark International
Holli Erskine
Senior Manager, RGM Brand Programs
Juul Labs Inc.
Senior Market Competition Analyst
Wawa Inc.
Alex Edger
Claudia Figueroa
Regional Director of Operations,
Grand Canyon Business Unit
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Inc./Circle K
Kristy Gerardo
Market Leader, Northern California
7-Eleven Inc.
Sarah Gorman
Planning & Performance Analyst,
Mobility & Convenience, Americas
bp
Regional Sales Manager, Mobility
& Convenience, Americas
bp
Brandi Gaston
Special Projects Manager
Swisher
Bayli Gregory
Sara Koch
Consumer & Category
Insights Manager
ITG Brands
Carly LaBeau
Retail Accounting Administrator
Beck Suppliers/Friendship
Food Stores
Rebecca Gregory
Regional Sales Manager, Mobility
& Convenience, Americas
bp
Manager, Strategy
Murphy USA Inc.
Jessica
Lange
Cassie Loomis
Account Executive
Reynolds American Inc.
Brandy Lovelady
Retail Accounting Administrator
Beck Suppliers/Friendship
Food Stores
Tarren
Law
Senior Account Manager
Altria Group Distribution Co.
Director, Total Compensation
Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Erica Metzger
Yvonne Pinckney
Operations Excellence Director Alimentation Couche-Tard
Inc./Circle K
Elizabeth Rutherford
Project Manager – Architect
Rutter’s
Sharon
Peters
Manager, Business Transformation
Swisher
Senior Category Manager,
Open Air Case
7-Eleven Inc.
Cecilia
Serrano
Stacy Sirkissoon
Internal Communications Manager
EG America
Brooke Spangler
Senior Category Manager – Private
Brands, Mobility & Convenience,
Americas
bp
Victoria Sheppard
Manager of Dry Goods
Love’s Travel Stops
& Country Stores
Pricebook Manager
Rutter’s
Melissa Stidd
Katie Wallace
Director of Sales
PepsiCo Inc.
Cristin Watrous
Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh
Supervisor, Central Territory
Hy-Vee Inc.
Isabel
Villegas
Director, Customer
Marketing, Convenience
Constellation Brands
Region Vice President – East
Juul Labs Inc.
Patricia (Tricia) Barry
Erika
Cuevas
Store Manager,
Southeast Business Unit
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Inc./Circle K
Traci
Fulmer
Senior Training Manager,
User Education
PDI Technologies
Debbie
Clayton
Human Resources
Director – Canada & 3PL
Core-Mark International
Senior Division Manager
Reynolds American Inc.
Natasha Holmes
Senior Market Manager
Altria Group Distribution Co.
Dominique
R. Herring
Ayisha Leonard
Payroll Manager
Yesway
Christine
McClintock
Asset Protection Manager
Murphy USA Inc.
Dr. Kathleen Moco
Retail Team Manager
Swedish Match
Tasha Smith
Senior Director, Corporate
Project Management Office
7-Eleven Inc.
Ericka Teniente
Store Manager
West Coast Business Unit
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Inc./Circle K
Tiffany Thompson
Regional Director, Field HR
RaceTrac Inc.
Melissa Weaver
Senior Scheduling Manager
Metroplex Energy/RaceTrac Inc.
Heather Taylor
Store Manager
Rutter’s
Kacie Hunt
District Manager
Casey’s General Stores Inc.
Senior Key Account Manager,
Convenience Channel
PepsiCo Inc.
Ariella
Weiss
Nina Ziesemer
Senior Account Executive,
Convenience – North Zone
General Mills Convenience
Hannah
Wood
Creative Supervisor
Everest Ice and Water Systems
• As the owner and operator of Go Time Convenience Stores, an independent chain located in central Kentucky, King has overseen the building of eight locations from the ground up, with an additional two new locations currently under construction.
• Her Go Time locations were the first in Kentucky to feature Little Caesar’s Express. This partnership helped define King as an innovator for the convenience and restaurant business. She is also the owner of petroleum company GoPetro and a member of the Kentucky Petroleum Marketers Association.
• According to her nominator,
King is always looking for new places to build and areas of opportunity. Her goal as a business owner is to move into a community and give, not take.
• Kovacs successfully delivered on all foodservice strategic goals and initiatives in 2023, which was consistent with previous years. She also oversaw foodservice formatting changes for Team Sledd’s Spring Foodservice Expo, leading to the company’s most successful show ever.
• One of Kovacs’ primary responsibilities is developing strategic plans that drive growth, profitability and market expansion for retail customers. In 2023, she successfully partnered with all key retail customers in growth-driven initiatives in foodservice, including coffee programs, pizza programs and the company’s private label STAKS program.
• She held a key role in the development of and commitment to a culture implementation of new Purpose, Vision and Mission Statements at Team Sledd. Kovacs also initiated a quarterly feedback program for all employees, recognizing the values of evolution, loyalty, inclusion, transparency and excellence.
• Jones holds a pivotal
role in leading RaceTrac’s pre-construction and new-store development efforts across multiple states, having oversight of a team that may be working on nearly 100 projects at any given moment. She additionally liaises with external stakeholders, such as government officials, community leaders and industry partners.
• Last year, Jones played a strategic role in driving market growth in North Carolina and South Carolina, and assumed responsibility for helping lead RaceTrac’s electric vehicle charging station growth, developing a basis of design for self-funded and grant-compliant charging installations.
• Allen Bell, RaceTrac’s executive director of engineering, called Jones “a well-respected leader who isn’t afraid to push back and always has her team’s best interest in mind,” while also “being mindful of workload and [stepping] in when she needs to.”
• Overseeing an all-female team as McLane’s first commercial marketing director, Hudson creates and executes strategies that support revenue growth and the convenience channel market. Among her responsibilities are market research, brand
management, product development support and
partnership development.
• She played a strategic role in the rollout of the company’s brand refresh, and her initiatives at the 2023 NACS Show led to an increased booth effectiveness score and jump in sales leads. Hudson also has worked to advance McLane’s digital presence.
• Hudson’s nominator noted her ability to guide her team through both successes and setbacks,
with staff members coming to rely on her to provide best-in-class guidance, support, career development and mentorship to advance their own careers in
the industry.
• As director of shopper insights for Coca-Cola’s Small Store Channel, McMahan spearheads
the analysis of shopper data, turning research into insights
that propel growth for retail partners operating within this customer segment.
• Among her recent accomplish-ments, McMahan leveraged
custom research, industry
insights, syndicated data trends and customer feedback as she worked closely with a work team to scale added-value bundle solutions across the industry to help offset consumer pressures. The work strengthened retail partnerships and influenced bundle-offer execution at key retailers.
• In the last year, McMahan has received 16 different internal accolades from Coca-Cola. Among them were badges of recognition for “Help People Be Their Best Selves,” for “Better Shared Future,” for “Set the Agenda” and for “Be the Role Model.”
• Following the exit of key customer Poole Marketing, Miller led the effort to open a new Big South Distribution warehouse in rural Georgia to service more than 300 retailers. With this move, she retained some key employees from Poole Marketing, retained business with retailers and independent shops, upfitted the space, and trained employees on how the business would operate moving forward.
• Shortly after adding the new location, Miller assisted with the acquisition of West Virginia-based VP Distributors, which opened the company’s access to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio.
• With her in-depth knowledge
of the company’s Systems, Applications and Products (SAP) reporting system, Miller also was a key member of the SAP implementation team and now serves on the improvement committee.
• Lobodocky assumed the role of general manager for Chester’s in 2017 and has led the company through a renaissance over the last six years. Her achievements include leading a major overhaul of the product portfolio, executing a complete brand refresh and new store design, and helping reshape the corporate culture.
• She oversaw the implementation of a new business intelligence tool and entered into a partnership with Arrowstream, a foodservice cloud platform, to better manage the business and provide increased visibility into Chester’s distribution network.
• Lobodocky also oversaw Chester’s move into a new corporate office and test kitchen in downtown Birmingham, Ala. The new spaces enhance the company’s research and development capabilities, and provide a much-improved venue to host franchisees, prospects and vendor partners.
• In delivering the state strategy for ITG’s “Must Win States,” Kuehn collaborates with internal teams — legal, regulatory, sales and marketing — to assist and support in the company’s corporate and legislative affairs business strategy. She also keeps customers and retailers updated on legislation that has the potential to impact the c-store industry.
• Her strategic use of the Voters for Tobacco Freedom platform to unite internal teams with retailers and wholesalers has led to a formidable advocacy effort against tax increases and state flavor ban legislation.
• Kuehn’s team-building skills and commitment to collaboration have led to significant legislative victories. In 2023 alone, she played a crucial role in countering 37 proposed bills that threatened product availability in convenience stores and other retail outlets, successfully defeating each one.
• Patrick is responsible for ensuring the 265 GetGo locations never run out of fuel while delivering the lowest cost product to the store. She led, managed
and influenced a cross-functional team of internal and external stakeholders to create GetGo Energy, the convenience retailer’s internal fuel sourcing and management capability.
• After bringing supply and distribution capabilities in-
house, Patrick again led a team
of cross-functional stakeholders
in developing bulk fuel procurement and hedging capability at GetGo.
• Patrick’s efforts are not limited
to the GetGo organization.
She led the development and reorganization of the management team at GetGo’s partner carrier, which has directly improved performance significantly in both cost of goods reductions and supply execution at the store level, setting historic company records, according to her nominator.
• Pimenta is the company’s first woman leader in the Construction Department. Her journey from Massachusetts licensed real estate attorney to her current role at Circle K is a story of resilience, determination and leadership that breaks through traditional gender barriers in the convenience and construction industries, according to Couche-Tard President and CEO Brian Hannasch.
• Under Pimenta’s leadership, the company has more stores under construction than ever before and is on track to increase its new-to-industry builds by 50% in fiscal year 2025. Due to her processes and ability to execute, she has reduced average time to build
by 10%.
• Pimenta was recently selected for the company’s 18-month development program, Global Leadership Forum, which prepares top-level talent for leadership positions within the company. She is an active member of the ACT Women’s Council, a mentor for women in the organization, and involved in the company’s Hispanic Network as well.
• At the core of O’Connor’s role is stewardship of RaceTrac’s loyalty program, RaceTrac Rewards, and the retailer’s guest-facing digital platforms. She oversees the RaceTrac Rewards program roadmap, financial performance and loyalty marketing, as well as the product roadmaps for its app, website and other guest-facing technologies.
• O’Connor’s strategic initiatives helped boost loyalty transactions and revenue last year. By implementing personalized
offers and enhancing functionality
and value for digital guests, she increased RaceTrac’s nonfuel loyalty transaction contribution
by 65% year over year.
• Through the RaceTrac app, RaceTrac Rewards and Voice of the Customer initiatives in 2023, O’Connor led efforts to create more tailored and seamless digital experiences for guests. This culminated in the launch of a newly designed and built RaceTrac app in May 2024, including a digital chat assistant to allow guests to self-service questions and issues related to their experience.
• Neurohr is responsible for
all phases of Coen’s marketing
efforts, from brand awareness and consideration set to a drive-to and retargeting strategy. She oversees all marketing and advertising buys across the customer journey and played a key role in the retailer’s “Your Fulfilling Station” rebranding efforts, which began in early 2023.
• She shifted to a digital-first marketing strategy, allowing for delivery of targeted and relevant messaging to customers depending on what type of offer the store had in their vicinity. Neurohr also identified the opportunity around Coen Markets’
hand-rolled pizza offer, leaning into the offering with targeted marketing efforts that resulted in a significant uplift in pizza sales.
• Additionally, she is recognized for helping to future-proof the brand and engage segmented audiences to grow the loyal customer base with the rollout of a new loyalty program. Plus, she spearheaded a new-to-industry promotion, “Early Bird Special,” to attract customers during the
morning daypart, which continues to grow month over month.
• Smevoll leads the Circle K national business for PepsiCo
Beverages North America (PBNA). She coordinates across four PBNA divisions and 14 Circle K business units to streamline execution plans, ensuring what has been aligned at Circle K headquarters
is executed across the field and bottling teams.
• In the last year, she led customer strategy and implementation that accelerated the business, resulting in growth ahead of the channel for PBNA, improving sales 5% in 2023. Since she took over as the Circle K business lead, Smevoll has grown PBNA’s share of market for Circle K by 5%.
• She led the 2025 joint business plan initiatives where PBNA and Circle K agreed to a preferred growth partnership. Aligned growth plans will drive more than 15% growth for the Circle K and PBNA businesses in 2024, her nominator noted.
• Sikorski’s teams are
responsible for forecasting and replenishing more than 80% of
the items sold in each Wawa store, creating 4,500 orders per day.
She was pivotal in moving Wawa to an inventory management mindset, according to
her nominator.
• In her role, Sikorski is tasked
with developing new programs
for store operations to help make inventory easier while also driving in-stock conditions. Recently, she implemented a sales recovery process improvement to reduce the cycle time of products into stores, which in turn drives profitability.
• A consistent top performer at Wawa, Sikorski was nominated
to attend the NACS Women’s
Leadership Program at Yale University. She is also a member
of the Council of Supply Chain
Management Professionals.
• As the marketing leader at QuickChek, Shymanski drives support for brand awareness through in-store, video, audio, digital, social and public
relations initiatives as well as sponsorships and partner-
ships. Shymanski continues to
play a pivotal role in QuickChek’s upcoming digital transformation.
• She was instrumental in negotiating, planning and executing the partnership that launched in 2023 as “QuickChek: The Official Sub of the New York Giants.” The sponsorship resulted in an increase in sandwich transactions amongst QuickChek Rewards members, along with significant growth in sandwich customers joining the rewards program.
• Shymanski also led the marketing relaunch of QuickChek in the Long Island, N.Y., market, and she helped the banner further its position as an energy destination by developing the marketing strategy and launch for both Red Bull Infusions and PRIME Energy made-to-order beverage products in-store.
• Salaria brings innovative leadership to Impact 21, a W. Capra company, inspiring teams to think differently and push the boundaries of traditional industry norms. She taps into her expertise in small-format merchandising, marketing, branding, foodservice and business strategy to help companies realize their business objectives.
• She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences due to her expertise, particularly in fresh food
development, and she is a coauthor for category management training at NACS where she leads the NACS Certified CM Training courses.
• Salaria also brings a wealth of knowledge to wholesale distribution, having more than 10 years of experience leading wholesale procurement teams in three distribution verticals: grocery, foodservice and convenience. She has led supply chain projects for companies transitioning from third-party wholesale to internally supplied — establishing procurement teams, wholesale programs and financial structure.
• Thompson successfully launched Parker’s Kitchen in three new emerging metro markets: Jacksonville, Fla.; Myrtle Beach, S.C; and the Augusta, Ga./Aiken, S.C., area. This expansion reflects significant progress in achieving long-term expansion goals.
• She has guided the closing of 48 sites, including 18 sites that she closed on in 2023 alone. Dedicated to the company’s future growth and success, she has analyzed more than 250 sites in the last 12 months and currently manages a pipeline of 120 new stores at varying stages of development.
• Thompson spearheaded
strategic alliances with third-party engineers and architects. In the last year, she onboarded five new engineering and architectural firm partners. She also developed a partnership with a new AI platform that provides faster and more accurate real-time traffic and demographic data.
• Through most of 2023, Taylor
led the rollout of a companywide transition to electronic shelf labels (ESLs) at all 70 OnCue stores. To ensure success, she collaborated closely with the marketing, merchandising and pricebook teams.
• With Taylor overseeing the initiative, two installation teams put a label on every SKU in the stores, amounting to more than 150,000 electronic shelf labels. She is currently working with the design and marketing teams to get larger ESLs in stores for other product sections such as the fountain drink area and beer cave.
• Taylor also played an integral role in developing and rewriting OnCue’s disaster recovery plan, which maintains a comprehensive disaster response. In the case of a system crisis, she helps bridge critical communications between IT vendors, her team and OnCue leadership.
• Through most of 2023, Taylor led the rollout of a companywide transition to electronic shelf labels (ESLs) at all 70 OnCue stores. To ensure success, she collaborated closely with the marketing, merchandising and pricebook teams.
• With Taylor overseeing the initiative, two installation teams put a label on every SKU in the stores, amounting to more than 150,000 electronic shelf labels. She is currently working with the design and marketing teams to get larger ESLs in stores for other product sections such as the fountain drink area and beer cave.
• Taylor also played an integral role in developing and rewriting OnCue’s disaster recovery plan, which maintains a comprehensive disaster response. In the case of a system crisis, she helps bridge critical communications between IT vendors, her team and OnCue leadership.
• Starnes plays a pivotal role in shaping the customer experience and fostering brand loyalty within Weigel’s operations. Her position is multifaceted, encompassing management of the loyalty program, the design of enticing promotions, analysis of program data, and the drive to increase participation rates. One of her most significant achievements is elevating the loyalty penetration rate to an impressive 36%.
• She is also recognized for driving up the loyalty customer average ticket amount. Through strategic promotions and rewards, Starnes has motivated customers to increase their spending during each visit, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction. Her efforts also led to increased foot traffic in the chain’s stores.
• Starnes received the Weigel’s Support Center Most Valuable Player award as an acknowledgement of her outstanding achievements, particularly in the realm of customer loyalty and engagement. She was a Rising Star in the 2022 TWIC awards program.
• Yeeles has been the driving force behind three recent key initiatives in the convenience channel. After the team identified a significant opportunity to drive store-level profits by devoting additional cooler doors to beer, she created a data-centric, compelling story outlining the opportunity that Anheuser-Busch could share with customers.
• Responding to a need within the channel for insights into the strategic benefits of walk-in beer caves, Yeeles used a proprietary Anheuser-Busch study to develop a clear, convincing narrative
that would help customers fully understand the opportunity.
• Beyond her functional scope,
she has helped define some of the key narratives the organization brings to life in The Vault, its multimedia retailer collaboration center. Her work also drives collaborative activity across the entire channel and she leads Anheuser-Busch’s category initiatives with NACS.
• Webb has achieved remarkable success in her less than four-year tenure at Casey’s. Having been promoted twice, she now oversees a team managing $1.7 billion in spend across 3,600 suppliers. In 2023, she led 16 high-visibility projects, resulting in $16 million in savings. Her laser focus on reducing operating expenses and enhancing foodservice margins has been instrumental in driving results.
• Under her leadership, her team consistently goes above and beyond to support stakeholders with exceptional service, her nominator said. Through collaborative efforts, they’ve achieved cost savings of more than $68 million this year. Their success is attributed to process optimization, skillful negotiations with suppliers and identifying operational efficiencies.
• Additionally, Webb’s team maintains robust strategic supplier relationships, ensuring reliable product availability and competitive pricing while mitigating risk.
• Ward is responsible for the overall management of her assigned markets, which includes most of the western portion of
the United States, including direct
responsibility for more than 120
c-store chains and 46 c-store distributors.
• Under Ward’s leadership, her team exceeded joint business objectives (JBOs) across multiple metrics during the Jan. 1, 2023 to Feb. 1, 2024 timeframe, including achieving 16% gross sales volume growth and 12% net sales volume growth — leading growth across the company’s entire broker team in 2023.
• Notably, her team achieved all established JBOs in 2023 and led the total team in distribution growth, dollar share growth and display growth. Many of her direct reports over her career have been promoted to larger roles in the industry.
• Uhlenkamp oversees a division consisting of 118 stores spread across the states of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma. She coaches, trains and develops a team of 11 district managers and is responsible for the overall financial performance of her division and for driving a customer-centric environment.
• In addition to her day-to-day division director role, she served throughout 2023 as division director contest champion. In this capacity, she interacted with Murphy USA’s merchandise partners and other stakeholder groups to help plan the company’s sales contests, facilitate related communications and provide performance updates.
• Additionally, Uhlenkamp has partnered closely with Murphy USA’s asset protection department
to find creative solutions to loss prevention problems prevalent in some of the company’s tougher markets.
• As leader of the recruiting department, Blakeley-Snyder coordinates all hourly and salaried positions across Road Ranger’s 51 locations and sites currently under construction. Because of her guidance and oversight, Road Ranger was staffed at more than 90% for 20 consecutive weeks in 2023.
• She developed a recruitment process for new store openings. The multistep practice engages team members to be part of an in-depth interview across several candidate touchpoints prior to them stepping foot inside the store. Road Ranger has praised the process for streamlining labor, building a robust team, increasing retention and decreasing the need for job board ad dollars.
• Blakeley-Snyder is committed to employee development as she mentored the company’s receptionist for an internal promotion into recruiting, and assisted coaching an HR intern.
• Bata leads sales objectives, budgets and labor for 96 stores, which encompass 3,645 coworkers. She plays a critical role in developing the leadership talent for her geographic area, which currently includes seven district leaders and four foodservice district leaders.
• Over the last year, Bata has been a part of the Supply Chain Committee, a team created to focus on the future of Kwik Trip. With her direction, her zone is at 99.9% of the company’s total food gross profit goal, whereas the average is 96.23%.
• Since joining Kwik Trip in 2007, Bata has earned a reputation and proven track record for successfully developing new markets for the company, her nominator said. Under her leadership, Kwik Trip expanded in the state of Iowa, adding 15 stores since 2022, with plans for 15 new stores this year.
• Allen’s scope of responsibilities includes the strategy and execution of hiring for the corporate-run locations of 7-Eleven’s 13,000-plus U.S. stores, as well its Field and Store Support Center. She is tasked with modernizing the company’s hiring process to make it more efficient, and attracting and engaging qualified candidates.
• She led the successful implementation of Paradox, an AI conversational recruiting assistant, across all corporate stores. The automated process has resulted in giving back more than 40,000 hours per week to time-strapped store leaders, and created a faster and improved candidate experience. Allen also created a Center of Excellence to provide recruitment support at the store level, including advertising activities that are laser-focused on areas that have the highest critical needs.
• She is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources and a member of the 7-Eleven Network of Executive Women.
• Abdollah supports strategic direction as it relates to the alcoholic beverage category,
and oversees strategy and development of the retailer’s ExtraGood private label brand.
In this capacity, she works on pricing, promotions, product assortment/schematics, execution and alignment across ExtraMile’s 1,000-plus stores.
• She has elevated the wine business within ExtraMile. By adding more than 100 stores
to the company’s roster of sites selling wine, the category has grown by more than 30% and doubled wine’s share of business within the ExtraMile network. Additionally, Abdollah has helped develop the number of sites that are able to sell distilled spirits, thereby adding significant alcohol and total store revenue to the business.
• She has been recognized internally with nominations for
the Gold Star and Going the ExtraMile awards.
• Clookie leads the national c-store business for Frito-Lay’s West Region Sales Team. She builds customer relationships, sells solution-oriented initiatives, and enables execution for field teams. Her portfolio spans 10 states and more than 1,700 outlets, with accounts that include Circle K West and franchise divisions of ampm and Power Buying Dealers.
• This year, Clookie was awarded the PepsiCo Ring of Honor award, which celebrates the top 0.1% of
the company’s global frontline sales team. Additionally, as a recent example of her exceptional customer relationship building, she received the 2023 Vendor of the Year award from ampm for helping the convenience retailer deliver goals related to pricing strategies, new product placement and new partnerships with digital activation during its integration with bp.
• Clookie serves as the Connection Pillar colead for the company’s Motherboard ERG.
• As an area leader for
RaceTrac’s Florida division, Cabrera oversees the presentation and service standards of 12 stores. Her stores consistently rank highest in south Florida for brand standards, cleanliness and safety. As a testament to her leadership, her region achieved the lowest turnover rates in 2023, and saw both inside and hot food sales increase by 11% and 51%, respectively.
• A champion of development, Cabrera mentors fellow operational partners in south Florida, supporting key business objectives for the region. Her influence and guidance have been pivotal in onboarding and developing newer leaders, particularly inspiring and empowering the female leaders she supports, her nominator said.
• Cabrera’s dedication and leadership have led to numerous RaceTrac accolades, including the prestigious Best-in-Class Turnover Award and the Excellence in Basics Award.
• Brewer analyzes complex
HR systems, data and processes
to recommend data-driven, comprehensive solutions to problems. Through curiosity and capacity, she has enabled better decision-making since moving into HRIS by discovering system capabilities that Yesway was not previously aware of. In doing so, she created a dashboard in support of measuring the company’s diversity goals
and objectives.
• Brewer was formerly office manager at Yesway’s corporate headquarters, where she was identified as an employee who
had the potential to move into a more challenging and impactful role. She was promoted to a junior HRIS analyst role in February
2023 before being elevated to
her current position three
months later.
• She is a member of Yesway’s Burrito Bandits social committee.
• As director of merchandising for GetGo, Borchert is responsible for the packaged beverage (nonalcoholic), beer/wine/liquor and dairy departments. Her decisions related to product assortment, placement and planograms help GetGo continually exceed guests’ needs and go a long way to help the retailer be first to market with innovation.
• These responsibilities, in conjunction with promotional strategy and an endless drive for results, have helped her achieve internal financial goals and continue to grow the business. In 2023, she led GetGo beverage to over 9% growth by challenging herself and her team to find new ways to succeed amidst changing economic conditions.
• Borchert also was the lead for the GetGo Shrink Committee, a major strategic initiative for 2023. She leveraged her past experience in loss prevention to identify opportunities for shrink reduction across all center-store categories, including her own.
• Crites spearheads brand planning and delivery against business targets relative to ITG Brands’ next-generation products, including the company’s vapor portfolio under the blu brand and
a new oral nicotine brand, zone. She plays an integral role in collaborating with her Imperial Brands global marketing counterparts to ensure strategies are driven by U.S consumer and market insights.
• In October 2023, she was tasked with leading and establishing
zone. Within three months,
Crites created a winning brand proposition, brand name and packaging for zone, which launched in early February.
As part of the implementation,
she developed disruptive point-
of-sale and meaningful sell-in materials that enabled the sales team to achieve ITG’s targeted distribution goals and exceeded
consumer targets.
• Crites is a member of ITG Brands’ Women’s business employee resource group.
• Cook manages core operational infrastructure for EG America, one of Altria’s top 10 accounts in the U.S., which operates 1,570 stores under 10 banners across 30 states. In the first quarter of 2024, she assumed leadership of EG America’s backbar reset initiative to expand visibility of both e-vapor and nicotine pouch growth categories while aligning with adult tobacco consumer expectations.
• She was instrumental in advancing both EG America’s digital and innovative tobacco product development in 2023. Cook led the execution of EG America’s Loyalty Alt ID solution
in Cumberland Farms, encompassing signage plans, account communications and operations training. This resulted in a Marlboro loyalty conversation rate of 36% in fiscal 2023, up 6% vs. prior year.
• Cook is a member of both Altria’s Women in Sales Network ERG and SÍ, Altria’s Hispanic ERG.
• Condon manages the 7-Eleven business and helps maintain Ferrara’s position as the convenience retailer’s
No. 1 sugar manufacturer. According to her nominator,
it is because of her possibility mindset and tactfulness that Ferrara achieved contribution of +30% in overall category growth
at 7-Eleven over the last year.
.• She is known to create 360-degree activation plans that combine in-store and digital strategies to drive traffic and grow basket size. Most recently, with NERDS launching its first-ever commercial during Super Bowl LVIII, Condon worked with 7-Eleven to build plans that offered value in-store and in-app. This resulted in NERDS Clusters being the No. 1 sugar item, and units up 27% vs. the prior period and 80% vs. a year ago.
• Condon is cochair for Ferrara Women Who Lead, the company’s largest BRG with 300-plus members.
• As the lead for Healthy Lifestyle Brands at Glanbia, Dente championed the think! brand, driving increased programming to reach shoppers in the convenience channel throughout their journey. She brings disparate internal groups together to develop and implement cross-functional solutions to meet the challenges
of today’s c-store landscape.
• Dente has been instrumental in developing channel and customer programs to support growth of the nutritional bar category and Glanbia’s think! brand. Utilizing channel and customer insights,
she designed rewards and cross-promotional programs that increased points of distribution
for think!’s new Chocolate Creme Cupcake Sweet Treat High Protein Bar, driving growth for the category.
• She received the Glanbia Brand Champions Award for her successful work relaunching the think! brand, which delivered an incremental 40,000 points of distribution in 2023 across all channels.
• Since joining Core-Mark in 2021, Epperson-Winn has increased her level of responsibility, influence and impact. Holding certifications as a Professional in Human Resources and Certified Professional in Talent Development, her contributions are pivotal in the management of employee relations, company regulations and practices, performance management, instruction and development, as well as staff engagement, rewards and recognition.
• Her efforts to forge Core-Mark’s corporate culture have been widely recognized in DEIB initiatives such as launching the company’s first associate resource group, the Black Inclusion Group, where she serves as global cochair.
• Epperson-Winn’s dedication to nurturing early-career talent through the Emerging Leaders training program, revamping an antiquated summer internship program and creating the inaugural Rising Stars initiative have proven exceptionally successful and made Core-Mark a better place to work, her nominator stated.
• In short, Edger is the
go-to person for all things competitive intelligence. Her persistence and creativity in building the right solutions for Wawa have impacted decision-making and ultimately driven results, her nominator said.
• Last year, Edger took on the challenge of developing a new market-share solution for Wawa’s
foodservice business, which was created by using a combination of market-level data from vendor partners and internal company data. By the end of the year, this new market-share capability was being used across the business, including by senior leaders, to inform key decisions.
• She also provided significant support to Wawa’s new market efforts and helped to shed light on competitive promotional strategy as the retailer saw many of its competitors shift more heavily to value messaging late in 2023.
• Erskine drives the loyalty component of Juul’s RGM programming, with a focus on acquisition and conversion. In an initiative to drive Juul’s engagement with adult nicotine consumers in 2023, she built out programming that resulted in consumption of roughly 1.2 million units and nearly 287,000 total redemptions among trial offers and consumer journey offers.
• For transitioning the loyalty program from external vendors
to in-house — which resulted in savings of more than $1.5 million and a 10x increase in adult nicotine consumer trial and conversion — Erskine received the Juul Embrace the Challenge Platinum Award from the RGM leadership team
last year.
• As a former Marine, she was previously colead for the Juul Military Community ERG and is deeply involved with initiatives across the company that support volunteer and donation efforts with veteran and military service organizations.
• DeRouchey manages the successful integration of all M&A projects at Casey’s, from contract signing to closing. In the last year, she has taken on a formal leadership role to hire, develop and manage Casey’s business development analyst team members. Despite primarily managing the integration of M&A projects, DeRouchey directly negotiated with sellers to acquire 20 stores on her own.
• Her contributions led to the successful integration of more than 140 acquired stores from Jan. 1, 2023 to Feb. 1, 2024, and helped provide Casey’s a significant jumpstart on delivering on the company’s three-year growth commitment of 350-plus stores. For her efforts, she received a 2024 Certificate of Excellence.
• DeRouchey is a member of Casey’s internal iWill (Women Inspired to Lift & Lead) professional development committee.
• Gerardo’s sphere of influence encompasses more than 120 corporate stores and approx-imately 1,200 employees. She
was tasked to lead the recent acquisition of more than 200 Stripes stores across three states. Additionally, in 2023, Gerardo was asked to serve as interim regional director, taking on additional leadership responsibilities for the business while continuing to drive her existing market performance.
• Approaching her work from a customer’s point of view, Gerardo recently created a QR code to interact directly with customers
to gain insights and feedback regarding in-store standards.
The system is being scaled to share as a best practice at the national level.
• A two-time Market Leader of
the Year honoree, Gerardo is a member of the 7-Eleven Network for Executive Women and the
7-Eleven Young Professionals associate business resource group.
• Gaston oversees the sales operations and performance of more than 140 dealer and franchised stores across the Sacramento region. She began her career at bp more than 25 years ago as a night cashier at an ampm in Sacramento. Today, she is the only female leader on ampm’s Franchise Development and Operations Team.
• Within the last year, Gaston stepped into a larger leadership role, heading the Franchise Business Advisor Team in Sacramento to help develop new and creative ways to engage with the community, expand brand presence and grow the business.
• She is a member of the ampm Franchise Focus Group and the Leadership Forum. She also participates in a group aimed at increasing the number of female leaders in the convenience industry through education, power teams and communication.
• Gorman is lauded by her nominator for the contributions she has made to bp in the last
year as the organization brought together the Thorntons and
ampm brands under a new U.S. convenience retail business. Among her achievements, she stood up a cohesive standardized monthly performance reporting process, which she now coor-dinates largely independently.
• An active member on the company’s DEI Committee, Gorman helped with facilitating the first-ever executive leadership team roundtable and Safe Space Training sessions. She is currently serving on a subcommittee that is focused on workforce inclusion by creating strategies to build a pipeline of diverse talent through unique development opportunities.
• She has received seven Energize Awards from bp, which celebrate contributions and highlight behaviors vital to the success of the business.
• Figueroa’s initial role as a customer service representative for Circle K in 2003 laid the foundation for a career in the c-store industry. Climbing the ladder of operational success over the last two decades, she was recently elevated into her current role, where she oversees nine district managers with a total of 121 stores.
• She is one of four Hispanic female operation directors
within the global organization.
A recipient of the Playing to
Win Company Values Award, Figueroa’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident through her active participation in the company’s Race and Ethnicity BRG. She also completed Couche-Tard’s Hispanic Leadership Pipeline Program and Emerging Leaders internal development program.
• “Her story is not just about personal achievement; it’s about inspiring a new generation of leaders who, like her, aspire to break barriers and redefine the landscape of convenience retail.
I expect great things from Claudia in the years to come,” said CEO Brian Hannasch.
• Koch captures cigarette industry insights and consumer behaviors to drive strategy development across ITG’s portfolio, directly facilitating its ability to win in convenience. Her detailed knowledge enables her to connect the company’s commercial team with its retail partners to deliver meaningful innovation to consumers.
• In the last year, Koch developed a business analytics training program customized for the tobacco industry, as well as go-to-market distribution plans for Kool Luxe and Kool Black as critical menthol and pricing alternatives. She is currently responsible for developing a consumer analytics training program to empower retail-facing teams at ITG with actionable consumer insights.
• Colleagues view Koch as a subject matter expert and a
strong leader who builds enduring partnerships. She is a founding colead of ITG’s first women-focused employee resource group and a consulting colead to Imperial Brands’ Global Gender ERG and Global Allyship program.
• Gregory holds a multifaceted role at Weigel’s that goes beyond product management. Her duties encompass driving profitability, developing compelling center-store sets and spearheading product innovation. Her holistic approach to category management — emphasizing customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and team empowerment — has
set a new standard of excellence within Weigel’s, her nominator said.
• The category manager is lauded for implementing dynamic pricing models and target promotions
by analyzing market trends and customer behavior. The strategy resulted in 15% year-over-year sales growth and a 20% increase in profit margins for the center-store categories.
• Another pivotal achievement driven by Gregory’s category management is the successful introduction of seasonal private label products, which have enhanced brand loyalty and market presence, and significantly boosted sales and customer engagement.
• LaBeau launched her career at Friendship Food Stores in a cashier position before steadily working her way up the ladder. In her current role, she ensures all store reporting information is accurate, timely and reviewed for loss prevention purposes.
• In addition to building a team to perform physical audits and improving the company’s rate of auditing delays, LaBeau partnered with the retail operations team to significantly reduce losses and boost efficiency.
• A company leader noted that her store reporting audit team is the best the organization has ever had, and commended LaBeau for her ability to work cross-functionally, share credit with team members and always commit to excellence.
• Gregory, who was elevated to her current role from territory manager last year, manages different trade channels for the purpose of testing initiatives, providing competitive intelligence, and securing new distribution and volume gains. As special projects manager, she has contributed more than $600,000 in revenue in the first six months, adding three indirect distributors to her book of business and taking on chain accounts.
• She plays a key role in driving
the development of her team.
In 2022, Gregory was selected
to participate in Swisher’s development pilot program, Vision. She then served as an advisor and mentor for the
2023 cohort.
• During her tenure with Swisher, Gregory received recognition as the Top Performer in Chain Stores and earned a Positivity Award when she was territory manager. She is a member of the Swisher Women Who Shine ERG.
• Loomis is accountable for two national strategic accounts that are of the highest commercial
and strategic value to Reynolds, contributing $650 million in
annual tobacco sales.
• Last year, Loomis took on a key leadership role to establish Reynolds’ nonmenthol portfolio in California after a total flavor ban. Through strategies implemented with new products, promotional planning, digital and loyalty, she helped her customers outperform sales in their market, significantly increase loyalty participation and achieve high volume retention for Reynolds.
• Loomis is known for seeking out opportunities to assist in the development of others and has mentored countless new managers across the western sales area. She also takes part in Reynolds’ Women’s ERG and the company’s political action committee.
• Law leads the cigarette category for Altria’s top trade partner,
7-Eleven Inc. In addition to leading
a team of three direct reports,
she works with countless cross-functional partners to grow their mutual business across 44 states and roughly 13,000 stores.
• Her nominator described 2023
as “an absolute breakthrough year for Law,” during which she led the creation of strategic, store-level infrastructure to implement revenue growth management insights. She also helped cascade this infrastructure across Altria while shaping the company’s internal datamodels.
• Law’s influence has spread
far beyond her role through her leadership and development of purpose and negotiation training for account teams, which have in combination upskilled more than 1,000 employees across Altria.
She is regularly commended by colleagues for her skills and positive impact.
• Lovelady oversees a team addressing support tickets from 2,600 c-stores while managing quality control and monitoring workflow and metrics reporting. She also works to improve reporting processes to help Casey’s be more proactive in problem management by seeking out root causes of incidents.
• Her impact on the Casey’s Store Help Desk team has been swift and impressive. Not only has her leadership led to a 60% reduction of ticket support backlog and a more than 200% increase in answered calls, but Lovelady also has a reputation for helping to raise the overall confidence and capability of team members.
• Since 2023, she has increased momentum within her team and the overall technology team to create positive and lasting changes, resulting in an empathetic culture that
extends to multiple areas
of the company, her
nominator said.
• Lange’s wide-ranging
responsibilities include driving the execution of strategic, enterprise-level initiatives; leading Murphy USA’s Analyst Development Program; and supporting confidential, senior executive projects.
• She is a highly trusted individual whose sphere of influence spans across nearly all levels and functions of the organization. After serving as a member of the team that led the creation and publishing of Murphy USA’s annual ESG report, she took on leadership of the Analyst Development Program and increased its overall efficiency and success rate at developing and retaining new analysts, her nominator noted.
• Over the last year, Lange was instrumental in developing and executing the company’s electric vehicle strategy, with her work managing and coordinating efforts across two brands and with multiple stakeholder groups playing a key role.
• Pinckney started out as a store manager before embarking on what her nominator called “a meteoric rise at Circle K,” during which she demonstrated unparalleled leadership and operational understanding. She currently oversees store support, loss prevention and health, safety and environmental for Circle K’s Coastal Carolinas Business Unit.
• Her focus on simplifying operations for stores, initiatives in implementing new projects, and emphasis on team member safety and loss prevention have resulted in enhanced operational efficiency and a safer, more productive working environment.
• Pinckney’s achievements include serving as a project leader in the launch of Circle K’s Store Manager Development Program and participation in the company’s Emerging Leader Development Program. CEO Brian Hannasch called her a shining example of Circle K’s “People Growing Together” vision.
• Peters drives operational effectiveness across Swisher with a focus on trade relations and sales effectiveness. In her role, she identifies, quantifies and implements changes and processes that improve alignment and reduce costs while adding value.
• Her recent accomplishments include completing a multiyear project to standardize the storage and distribution of sales and marketing resources, and working with a team to identify a new selling system that will be more efficient and provide faster and more accurate data.
• Viewed internally as a thought leader who wears many hats, Peters’ sharp mind, can-do attitude and strategic planning make her one of the most important agents in the office, according to her nominator.
• Rutherford spearheads the design of new Rutter’s stores and oversees the remodeling efforts of existing sites. She collaborates closely with architectural and construction teams to translate conceptual designs into efficient and inviting store layouts.
• She is highly regarded for her adeptness in coordinating with cross-functional teams, ensuring that store designs align seamlessly with brand standards, customer expectations and operational needs.
• Rutherford’s recent achievements include a successful partnership with an external vendor to create a state-of-the-art prototype for a new store design. By leading innovative brainstorming sessions, fostering an environment of constructive feedback and meticulously refining the design, she was instrumental in developing a prototype that not only captures Rutter’s brand essence but also incorporates cutting-edge retail design trends.
• Metzger has oversight of executive, store support center and store compensation programming; the creation and maintenance of 500 unique job descriptions; collaboration on the design principles of incentive and quarterly bonus programs, and more. Leaders across Casey’s rely on her counsel and in-depth analysis.
• She has played an integral part
in modernizing the company’s compensation practices, including a multiyear rollout of a newly created compensation philosophy and structure.
• Metzger’s work has significantly contributed to Casey’s improved retention and engagement over the last two years through key projects such as introducing
a pay equity process, creating communication tools to help
users better understand components of their incentive compensation, improving
field compensation practices, identifying a new stock
plan administrator, and collaborating on career
pathway tools.
• Sirkissoon is a key member of EG America’s internal communications team, for which she writes and edits content, drafts video scripts for senior leaders, interviews team members around the country, and develops communication plans for a variety of internal programs and initiatives, among other duties.
• Her responsibilities have consistently grown in priority to include supporting human resources initiatives, awards and recognition programs, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Sirkissoon champions her colleagues through weekly leadership videos and other content, and worked tirelessly
to create the Women at EG
America ERG. Her nominator described her as “an enthusiastic and collaborative team player
who emulates the company’s values on a daily basis.”
• Sheppard is responsible for tobacco and the backbar at
Love’s, where she has a wide sphere of influence because she is viewed as the most trusted and knowledgeable individual in the company when it comes to the tobacco category and industry trends.
• In addition to implementing
an ahead-of-industry full inn-ovative reset to capitalize on smokefree growth, she has championed the use of tech-nology and digital engagement
to achieve strong loyalty conversion growth.
• Sheppard is known as a forward-thinker who makes sure to have multiple action plans prepared for various challenges, as well as a leader of people who consistently supports her team members and enables their growth into new
and larger roles.
• Spangler is fully responsible for developing, creating, sourcing, implementing and executing multiyear private brand strategy
at bp’s U.S. convenience brands,
a pivotal growth initiative for the company.
• In a key accomplishment,
she built and launched bp’s first private brand strategy in less than a year, partnering with a wide range of internal departments
and external vendors to deliver successful results in the face of aggressive deadlines.
• Spangler’s nominator noted
that it is not only what she has accomplished that is remarkable but how she has accomplished it: with passion, drive, leadership
and care for others as she brings creativity and special touches
to make her work stand out.
• Serrano is responsible for
the full strategy of the open air case segment, which includes fresh sandwiches, cold snacks, salads, entrées and fast-food consumer packaged goods products. With the largest SKU count in fresh foods, her role requires collaboration with numerous commissary partners and
vendors while overseeing assortment and pricing, new product innovation and quality improvements.
• She restructured the category in 2024 and improved processes to grow the segment across 7-Eleven and Speedway stores. Additionally,
Serrano led the Quality Obsession booth at the 7-Eleven Experience, which touched more than 15,000 attendees.
• According to her nominator, Serrano is solutions-oriented and unafraid to challenge the status quo with all aspects of her category plans, from the
product development phase
to the in-store promotional plan.
• Watrous is responsible for the operations and financial results
of 17 Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh convenience stores. She oversees strategy, innovation and the implementation of new initiatives, programs and offerings, while also optimizing and growing food programming companywide.
• Over the last year, she played
an instrumental role in advancing Hy-Vee’s food strategy across divisions and collaborated on the design, development and launch
of the company’s mobile app.
• Watrous serves as a bridge between Hy-Vee leaders
and retail operations, and demonstrates a remarkable
ability to relate to people by focusing on connection first,
her nominator said. She is both
an educator and a learner who is always asking questions to identify new opportunities and further understand the business.
• Villegas leads the marketing strategy planning and execution for national convenience accounts at Constellation Brands. Her sphere of influence includes the internal convenience sales team, retailer leadership, brand teams and agency partners.
• Viewed internally as an invaluable teammate with a commitment to excellence that is second to none, Villegas provides a voice for the convenience channel within the company, ensuring that all national and regional marketing programming includes tactics that will resonate with c-store buyers and shoppers.
• She has spearheaded key initiatives such as Modelo’s Rolling Loud program at 7-Eleven, which included a first-time creative digital integration with the retailer’s mobile app; six shoppable 7NOW e-commerce campaigns; and a summer marketing campaign for Circle K that broke engagement records and increased sales.
• Wallace oversees all aspects of the convenience business for Frito-Lay’s largest region in the United States. This includes developing the growth strategy, building strategic customer relationships, leading joint business planning for her portfolio of customers and coaching her leadership team that spans eight states.
• In 2023, she developed a new execution model for 5,000 Frito-Lay frontline employees, cascading her channel vision and strategy, resulting in her region becoming No. 1 in the country for sales and share growth. For this, she was awarded the prestigious Herman Lay Award, the top sales award for Frito-Lay North America.
• Wallace has a consistent track record of developing a strong team culture, is a trusted advisor on the convenience business, speaks with authenticity
and works to remove obstacles
for the entire field sales team.
• Initially starting at Rutter’s as pricebook coordinator, Stidd now manages the pricebook team and all strategic initiatives within the department while creating improved systems and processes, documenting all marketing agreements, and cultivating important relationships with other departments and outside vendors.
• She played an important role in implementing processes critical to Rutter’s recent online ordering rollout and foodservice kiosk development while conquering her day-to-day tasks and training and expanding her pricebook team.
• Stidd has onboarded, trained
and mentored multiple team members to be the best they can be. “She’s an unsung hero to our organization. Her expertise, experience and leadership has contributed to our organization
in a number of ways,” her nominator said.
• Wood oversees all creative and visual aspects of the Everest brand. In addition to managing design project workflow and ensuring content fits company guidelines, she collaborates with and inspires her teams to push creative boundaries and set new standards for quality and innovation.
• Her achievements include leading the creative design work on Everest’s first Sustainability Green Report infographic, which won a prestigious GDUSA award for showcasing the company’s environmental sustainability initiatives through a compelling and visually stunning design.
• According to her nominator, Wood is a talented creative who continually adds value while always being willing to go the extra mile. She mentors junior design team members, offering guidance as they develop their skills.
• Ziesemer is responsible for strategic management of Core-Mark as a major distributor partner to General Mills, uniting on both a headquarters and local-division level to drive mutual growth through initiatives focused on product distribution, innovation, supply chain efficiencies and merchandising.
• Among other accomplishments, she took a lead role in managing General Mills’ partnership with WAM that significantly over-delivered on year-one metrics
with 24% dollar growth and placed 70,000 new points of distribution.
• Ziesemer is a leader in General Mills’ Champions of Convenience “Our Business” group and coleads the Snacks Sales Small Group. She also mentors junior employees through the company’s mentorship program and Women’s Mentor Circle.
• Weiss oversees all aspects of the relationship between PepsiCo and GPM Investments LLC, supporting beverage business growth through category/brand initiatives, promotional value creation, and in-store and digital marketing execution.
• Her work has driven significant mutual growth within the last year. In addition to successfully beating internal topline plan targets in a challenging environment, she hosted the first combined Pepsi Beverage and Frito-Lay joint business planning meeting with GPM and secured the position of the retailer’s exclusive beverage and snack partner.
• Weiss is known for mentoring other women, offering support and guidance to help others navigate their career paths, and serving as an influential and collaborative leader.
• A 26-year convenience industry veteran, Fulmer has spent 14 of those years serving as the leading force behind the in-person and online training provided by PDI, impacting more than 1,800 PDI employees and nearly 24,000 customers. Her mentoring nature stems organically from her work in elevating workforce capabilities and increasing organizational success.
• Directly managing a team of six employees and extending her mentorship efforts to another roughly 25 PDI employees, Fulmer has demonstrated a commitment to building highly capable teams and nurturing talent.
• Tryston Blisard, who transitioned to a role on Fulmer’s team last year, said: “I can say that not only is she the most impactful person I have ever met as far as the development of my career, but also the development of my character as an individual. She listens to any concerns or desires and does a phenomenal job of identifying and developing passions within her team.”
• Clayton oversees the people strategy for more than 1,000 associates located in Canada and the United States. Her responsibilities encompass leading the HR strategy and execution across the region, focusing on talent management, organizational development, associate engagement and leadership training.
• According to her nominator, Clayton’s leadership philosophy centers on empowerment and professional growth, leading to a team that is not only high-performing but also deeply committed to mentoring others. This culture of mentorship has cascaded throughout the region, enhancing team dynamics, improving cross-functional collaborations and elevating overall performance levels.
• Clayton’s leadership has significantly enhanced operational efficiency, associate satisfaction and talent retention within her region — which is currently at 39.8% attrition, leading Core-Mark’s convenience segment. Additionally, under her guidance, fellow members of the HR department have achieved remarkable professional growth with many assuming mentorship roles themselves.
• During her 24-year tenure with the company, Cuevas has advanced from a customer service representative to one of the strongest store managers in Circle K’s Southeast Business Unit (BU). She produces record-breaking sales, high engagement within the BU and genuinely cares for her people, according to her nominator.
• Recognizing the potential in each team member, Cuevas invests her time and resources in their training and professional growth. Her store has become the cornerstone for all store managers in training — a rite of passage that equips them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to excel in their roles.
• “Her influence has left an indelible mark on those who have had the privilege of working with her, making her not just a leader within our company but an inspiration across the industry,” said Couche-Tard Chief Operating Officer Alex Miller.
• Barry leads the East Sales Region for Juul Labs, which covers 21 states. She directs a 90-plus-person team that is responsible for more than $600 million in annual retail sales.
• After being promoted into
the Region Vice President role,
she identified that personal development was inconsistent across her region and many long-term successful employees were frustrated at the lack of upward movement. She has since ensured that every employee has an individual development plan and at least biannual check-ins on plan progress. She established new expectations for manager/
employee monthly training sessions and implemented a written feedback letter after
each training session.
• Barry also provides specific feedback to employees who interviewed for internal promotions, but were passed over. She has worked with these employees to build additional development plan activities and as a result, multiple employees have been promoted based on her mentorship or are now ready for
promotion.
• Leonard has exhibited outstanding leadership in teaching and mentoring a new team of payroll employees. She and her team are responsible for processing biweekly payroll for corporate employees and weekly payroll for retail employees supporting 431 stores across nine states.
• Leonard exposes her team to new processes and learning opportunities, including them when attending virtual training sessions. She provides many opportunities for her team to be involved in process improvement and encourages them to take a “how might we” approach to problem solving and meeting internal customers’ expectations.
• As a result of her effective leadership, payroll errors have been significantly reduced and the department is running more smoothly and efficiently than ever, according to her nominator. Leonard’s commitment to fostering a collaborative and well-informed team has enhanced the overall experience of employees companywide.
• Holmes is a senior division manager for Reynolds’ Orlando trade marketing division. She is responsible for the coaching and development of a team of territory managers toward achieving organizational milestones.
• Following a time of organizational change,
Holmes recognized the need for a regionwide talent development program across Florida. To meet this need, she developed a program categorized into four sections focused on developing the region’s talent from entry level to senior manager.
• Within the past 12 months, Holmes has increased her commitment to supporting women on their leadership journeys. She mentors one territory manager in Michigan and two lead managers of coaching and development, one in her region and the other in a neighboring region. Every two weeks, she activates “Mentor Monday,” carving out time to support the career aspirations of these women. This year, Holmes is also part of the team facilitating the Miami region’s Fem-Powered program.
• Hunt leads a district comprised of 13 stores in southeast Oklahoma. She guides and influences store leadership to maximize sales
and profitability, while driving
a successful culture in which
all team members have the opportunity to grow their careers.
• Given her passion for developing her team and the results she’s had, Hunt was chosen as a mentor to partner with new district managers and region directors when they begin their career at Casey’s.
She also was selected to head
the mentor program for Casey’s Lone Star Food Stores acquisition, which is a new state for the retailer and includes three new district managers.
• Since January 2023, Hunt has been recognized for: her district being in the top 20% for seven months, two of her stores being
in the top 100 out of 2,600-plus stores, and her district ending
fiscal year 2023 in the 23rd spot out of 211 districts.
• Herring holds a pivotal
role as a senior market
manager in Ohio, steering a team of 17 across an expansive network of more than 2,200 convenience stores to successfully market Altria products. Her influence, however, extends beyond her sales role, significantly shaping Altria’s
corporate culture.
• She has been instrumental as a mentor to 10 employees, guiding four of them toward promotions. As a cofounder and colead of the Black Women Connection at Altria, an employee resource group, her leadership has been vital in enhancing cultural understanding of the Black woman’s experience throughout the company and fostering the representation and readiness of Black women in line with Altria’s talent initiatives.
• Herring’s commitment to diversity extends to her work with Altria’s Hispanic employees through the company’s Hispanic Leadership Academy program, where she serves as a mentor. She also plays a key role in Altria’s Diversity Council, driving the integration of diversity and inclusion into the company’s culture.
• Taylor started her career with Rutter’s in 2017 as a team member and was quickly promoted to assistant store manager. In 2018, she was promoted to store manager of Rutter’s second
location in Altoona, Pa.
• Taylor’s impact goes beyond the role of store manager as she is an integral mentor within Rutter’s Altoona market. She actively participates in the training and mentorship of new managers across the market, imparting her knowledge and ensuring the future success of Rutter’s stores in the region.
• According to her nominator, Taylor has remarkable team-building skills and consistently dedicates herself to cultivating talent. Because of her unwavering dedication and commitment to excellence, she is leading the opening of a fourth store in the Altoona region this year.
• Responsible for leading a team of
10 territory sales managers, Dr.
Moco analyzes business-building opportunities and develops strategic executional plans for the utilization of the team’s time and efforts in accomplishing specific goals while maintaining high standards.
• She serves as a mentor in Swedish Match’s Professional Women Rising employee resource group. Her role
as a mentor is to develop women in the sales organization and prepare them for leadership positions. She accelerates and enhances their growth by tailoring her approach to each mentee’s needs and helping them increase their personal and professional skillset.
• As a mentor, Moco supports women from diverse backgrounds, providing valuable feedback and guidance to help them achieve their goals. She assists them in setting professional and developmental objectives, offers constructive feedback and insight, creates a motivational environment, and holds them accountable for their progress so that they can thrive professionally and personally, drive industry progress and achieve their fullest potential.
• Smith leads a team of project management professionals and oversees a portfolio of strategic initiatives for 7-Eleven that drive sales, efficiency and optimization across the enterprise. These initiatives involve dozens of cross-functional resources.
• According to her nominator, Smith is “the epitome of a servant leader.” She has individual development plans for her direct reports and goes above and beyond to coach and mentor each. Most of those she has mentored have been promoted and/or moved into other roles with additional responsibilities and opportunities for growth.
• Smith also formally mentors multiple people through the company’s 7Mentor program
and informally mentors multiple employees through her participation in 7-Eleven’s associate business resource groups. She is the current co-lead for the 7-Eleven Network of Black Professionals and an active member of the 7-Eleven Network of Executive Women.
• According to her nominator, McClintock is a natural-born coach and mentor. Her experience as a district manager and division director, as well as the trust she’s gained over the past seven years through her collaborative approach, has earned her credibility with team members throughout the organization.
• McClintock provides trusted support for her divisional partners, which directly influences more than 500 stores. She spends a great deal of time working hand in hand with Murphy USA’s district and store managers, teaching and coaching them on how to optimize their store’s performance and achieve their goals. She gives direct and honest feedback in a respected and valued way.
• Since transitioning to her role in asset protection in 2021, McClintock has leveraged her coaching and leadership skills to improve her team’s performance. This has impacted sales and profitability for her region and the broader enterprise.
• Thompson’s influence stretches both upwards and across the organization as she leads HR projects and programs that have a long-term impact for the business. Her region (Dallas-Fort Worth) had the lowest turnover of all regions in 2023.
• Her deep understanding of business priorities combined with a dedication to employee development make her the ideal mentor, according to her nominator. Thompson has trained 60% of newly promoted HR Business Partners for the field, and her dedication to training and development has resulted in 43% of the HR team being promoted to other departments or within HR. She also sourced stretch assignment opportunities for several general managers, resulting in three promotions to the team.
• Regional Director of Operations Bill Henegar said, “Tiffany selects top talent, gives candid feedback and is always innovating for the good of RaceTrac. Her level of support and advice is exceptional, allowing myself and others to make good decisions and grow.”
• In addition to leading a team of nine schedulers responsible for orchestrating all bulk fuel logistics and inventory management operations for RaceTrac, Weaver plays a pivotal role in mentorship, talent acquisition, training and development across multiple departments.
• Her willingness to put others before herself is second to none, Weaver’s nominator said, noting that her mentorship style focuses on active listening, where she truly tailors growth and development recommendations to each individual. Her mentees have even adopted her personalized approach to mentorship and now “mentor up” using the best practices she consistently demonstrates.
• Over the past year, Weaver successfully facilitated the promotion of four direct reports, with two individuals ascending to leadership roles. Through her transformative coaching, she also helped a new employee who was on the verge of termination become an exceptional team member.
• Teniente is not only excelling as a store manager for the retailer’s West Coast Business Unit, but she is also “the true essence of leadership, mentorship and excellence in the convenience store industry,” according to her nominator.
• Her approachability, combined with a unique blend of humor and directness, makes her an invaluable asset to the Circle K team and an inspiration to those she mentors. She has successfully trained eight Manager In Training candidates and a full franchise operator. Through these efforts, Teniente imparted crucial knowledge on the company’s backoffice computer systems, processes and procedures, setting a solid foundation.
• Chief Operating Officer Alex Miller said, “Her contributions have enhanced the growth and development of the individuals she has mentored and significantly advanced our stores’ operational success and community engagement.”
Regional Finance Director
Core-Mark International
Anna Thai
• Thai is responsible for 12 operating companies (OpCo) with three OpCo finance directors reporting directly to her. She is also responsible for the complete P&L of Core-Mark’s Mid-South region and is a primary business partner to the OpCo presidents in setting financial goals and strategies across the region.
• She was a key business partner in leading the Atlanta and Tampa OpCos to exceed their EBITDA plans in fiscal year 2023. Atlanta OpCo’s EBITDA grew 116% year over year while the Tampa OpCo grew EBITDA 55% year over year.
• Thai was recognized in Core-Mark’s Circle of Excellence as OpCo Finance Director of the Year for 2023, and she was selected to attend Performance Food Group’s E3 Leadership Development Program at the University of Richmond.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR:
Vice President, Private Brands, 7-Eleven Inc.
Nikki Boyers
Nikki Boyers’ career trajectory at 7-Eleven Inc. reflects her leadership and strategic vision within the company. Starting as a senior category manager in 2019, she rapidly advanced to her current role as vice president of private brands. This exemplifies her capability to lead, motivate teams, and drive growth strategies for franchisees and the company.
Leading the Private Brands Division is no small feat. Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven’s private brand offerings have expanded significantly since their inception in 2008, growing from 87 items to more than 900. The Private Brands Division includes Seven-Select for food, beverages and snacks, and 24/7 Life by 7-Eleven, which spans electronic accessories, health and beauty aids, and more.
Boyers’ strategic initiatives have been pivotal. Within three months of taking on the role, she implemented a product pipeline development plan that doubled new item launches within a year, leveraging her current team strengths while developing and recruiting talent to meet the future needs of the business.
The new pipeline emphasizes supply base redevelopment and has delivered premium and high-value products such as organic teas, packaged food and frozen pizza. Due to Boyers’ leadership and strategic planning, sales trends improved in item sales and gross profits, demonstrating her adeptness in both innovation and operational efficiency.
She also oversaw the innovative 7-Eleven “Brands with Heart” program. Launched in 2018, the initiative gives chosen brands the opportunity to enter a new retail channel with the chance to see their products on the shelves in 7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores across the United States.
“She leads and thinks like an entrepreneur and delivers scaled growth through functional collaboration across the organization,” Boyers’ nominator said. “She is passionate about people, products and innovation, and inspires her team with a philosophy of leading by example and cultivating talent to develop high-performing associates.
”Boyers’ dedication to the convenience channel does not stop at her role leading private brands. In 2020, she received the 7-Eleven Hero Award and continues to be held in high esteem as an energetic, well-respected leader in the industry. She is a graduate of the Women’s Leadership Institute of the Texas Women’s Foundation, a graduate of the Thayer Executive Leadership Program at West Point and a graduate of the Retail Academy at Southern Methodist University.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR:
Vice President, Weigel’s Stores Inc.
Elizabeth Hoffer
One could say Elizabeth Hoffer has a full plate at Weigel’s Stores Inc.
As vice president, she serves as a bridge between the operational and strategic realms of the business. With complete oversight of the operations team that supports 80 convenience stores, Hoffer ensures that each location operates smoothly, efficiently and in alignment with the company’s goals. This covers everything from daily operational activities to long-term strategic planning and execution.
In essence, her role is instrumental in ensuring that the stores meet the high standards expected by customers and adhere to regulatory requirements.
Hoffer also oversees one of the fastest-growing categories in the convenience channel: foodservice. She is tasked with managing the quality, production and distribution of food items. Her leadership ensures that the foodservice teams are well-trained, motivated and aligned with Weigel’s vision of providing high-quality, fresh food to its customers.
Notably, she was at the helm when Weigel’s rolled out a fresh chicken tender program. This initiative not only diversified the company’s foodservice offerings, but also attracted a larger customer base, significantly contributing to a record financial performance year for Weigel’s foodservice program.
Her direction does not stop at the store; it extends to the management of Weigel’s production facilities, which include a commissary/bakery and a dairy production facility.
One of her most significant current projects is leading the construction of a new 110,000-square-foot commissary/
bakery facility. This project highlights Powell, Tenn.-based Weigel’s commitment to growth and innovation. Hoffer’s leadership in this venture involves coordinating with architects, contractors and internal teams to ensure the project’s success — on time and within budget. The facility will enhance the company’s production capabilities, as well as create new opportunities for product development and market expansion.
“Beth’s leadership style is characterized by a strong servant leadership mentality. She believes in the development and growth of her teams, demonstrating a commitment to empowering her employees,” said Weigel’s President Douglas Yawberry. “This approach fosters a positive organizational culture where employees feel valued, motivated and engaged in their work. Her leadership not only drives operational excellence, but also builds a strong foundation for the company’s future growth."
Outside of her position at Weigel’s, Hoffer is active in the annual NACSPAC Day on the Hill and the NACS Content Committee, where she helps enhance the knowledge and practices within the convenience store sector.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR:
Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Core-Mark International
Ali Marciano
Ali Marciano has only worked in the convenience channel for four years but in that short time, she has made
a big impression.
In 2022, she was recognized as a Senior-Level Leader in the Top Women in Convenience program, not long after Westlake, Texas-based Core-Mark International was officially acquired by Richmond, Va.-based Performance Food Group (PFG). This move, which followed PFG’s 2019 acquisition of Eby-Brown Co. LLC, brought PFG’s convenience operations under one banner and subsequently propelled Marciano into an integral role in the companies’ integration efforts.
Over the past two years, the senior vice president of human resources has led the charge to integrate Core-Mark vertically into PFG and horizontally into Eby-Brown. Core-Mark grew from a company of 8,000 associates to more than 11,000 associates, and is now one of the largest foodservice and wholesaler consumer products distributors in the convenience retail industry.
According to her nominator, Marciano has steered the human resources strategy for the now larger Core-Mark through incredible challenges and change. Highlights include:
• Coauthoring the new three-year Core-Mark Strategic Framework. Marciano leads the People First initiatives, which include creating a consistent 90-day experience for frontline associates, rolling out a new rewards and recognition platform for all associates, and creating customized leadership training for senior-level leaders.
• Transforming the annualized under 30-day and under 16-day attrition of Core-Mark associates. Across the United States and Canada, Core-Mark has seen sustained double-digit improvements in workforce attrition thanks to retention strategies with Marciano at the helm.
• Improving engagement with deskless associates. She created bite-sized digital Core Communications podcasts for easy consumption. She also was instrumental in the company’s new career philosophy, “Steer Your Career,” which equips Core-Mark associates with the mindset, tools and resources to take their careers to the next level.
Additionally. Marciano developed Core-Mark’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging strategy and curriculum, much of which has now been adopted by the broader organization.
“I have worked with four public company CHROs [chief human resources officers] in my career and Ali stands out for numerous reasons, but I would highlight her ability to connect with employees at every level of the organization, navigate challenging initiatives with great vision with an ability to achieve great results, and the drive and leadership characteristics that make people want to follow her as a leader,” said Scott McPherson, chief field operations officer at PFG and former CEO of Core-Mark.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR:
Senior Vice President, Mobility Americas, Shell
Barbara Stoyko
As senior vice president of Shell Mobility Americas, Barbara Stoyko oversees the financial, strategic and organizational delivery of Shell’s consumer mobility and retail business in the United States, Canada and Mexico. This comprises thousands of Shell-branded gas stations, a growing footprint of company-owned and -operated convenience stores, and an expanding network of public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
In 2023, Stoyko spearheaded the launch of the Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline’s newest formulation, which is now available at approximately 12,000 Shell stations nationwide. She also oversaw the launch of Shell Renewable Diesel in the Los Angeles market in October, enabling diesel customers to lower their carbon footprint in the vehicles they drive now.
Beyond traditional fuel, Stoyko plays a key role in meeting today’s changing mobility needs. As more motorists embrace EVs, she has taken action to secure Shell’s future role in customers’ journeys — no matter what type of vehicle they drive.
Notably, she led the 2023 acquisition of Volta Inc., an EV charging and multimedia advertising company, adding more than 3,000 charging points to Shell’s U.S. EV charging network. This transaction made Houston-based Shell the owner and operator of one of the largest public EV charging networks in the U.S.
Under her leadership, Shell also began rolling out Shell EDGEPro in the fall at no cost to its wholesalers. The modular solution is built on a flexible operating system that enables remote site management and daily process automation while paving the way for seamless future integrations. She led the process to identify the best solution to meet wholesalers’ and customers’ needs, and worked with the Shell National Wholesale Council to test the platform, gather feedback and make adjustments.
In addition, Stoyko brings more than 30 years of experience providing strategic, commercial and operational leadership across energy and retail value chains to several boards of directors. She is the lead director of Volta Inc. and a member of the board for Shell Petroleum Inc., a 100% owned subsidiary of Shell plc.
Stoyko is the lead director on both boards of Shell Mobility and Convenience LLC as well. In this role, she has led Shell’s venture back into company-owned and -operated convenience stores, beginning with the 2022 acquisition of approximately 180 fuel and convenience retail sites from the Landmark group of companies.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR:
Senior Vice President, Global Fuels, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K
Louise Warner
When it comes to the fuel side of convenience, few women have cracked the glass ceiling. In this regard, Louise Warner stands out as a beacon of progress, innovation and leadership.
“Louise’s nomination for Woman of the Year is not only a celebration of her achievements, but it is also a testament to women in leadership roles across our industry,” said Alex Miller, chief operating officer at Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K. “Louise is a true pioneer in the industry and inspires us every day whether she is at the refinery, the fuel pump or the boardroom."
Working in the fuel and convenience industry for more than two decades, Warner began her journey as a chemical engineer, making the fuel that Couche-Tard’s banners sell today. Her passion for problem-solving, mathematics and continual learning propelled her through the ranks. As the first female leader in a refinery, she never let gender barriers stand in her way.
At Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard, Warner has transformed the company’s fuel business. Case in point: Almost the entire network now sells branded fuel, showing off the Couche-Tard/Circle K brand on the forecourt and inside the store. During her tenure, the company has gained control of its fuel supply through a pioneering partnership with Musket and trading capabilities in Geneva, Switzerland. She also instituted Fuel Days across the global network, which are delighting customers with significant savings.
Beyond the Global Fuels Division, Warner oversees the data and analytics team, business-to-business sales, the company’s owned fleet and drivers, and electric vehicle charging initiatives in North America. This breadth of responsibility underscores her versatility and ability
to easily navigate complex global markets, the
company noted.
Her commitment to excellence is mirrored in her dedication to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion within the organization. She serves as the executive sponsor for the organization’s Women’s Council, where she has been instrumental in mentoring and empowering women, advocating for their advancement and equal opportunities.
“Louise Warner is a fundamental and leading contributor to the growth and success of our company. She brings decades of experience, a love for retail and fuel, and a genuine desire to make it easier for our customers and team members,” said Couche-Tard CEO Brian Hannasch. “She embodies the qualities of a true leader and role model in the convenience industry.”