Convenience Store News Editorial Advisory Board Member Ruth Ann Lilly Promoted at GPM
RICHMOND, Va. — GPM Investments LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arko Corp., has promoted Ruth Ann Lilly to the position of senior vice president of marketing and merchandising.
A seasoned executive with 31 years of experience in the convenience store, Lilly joined GPM in 2017 as senior category manager of tobacco. In 2019, the company promoted her to vice president of marketing and merchandising. In that role, she continued to develop and implement innovative programs that still generate strong results for the convenience store operator, including GPM's marketing strategy and processes.
"Ruth Ann is a pioneer in this industry, and a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of GPM that attracts top-level talent like her," said Mike Bloom, executive vice president, chief marketing and merchandising officer of GPM. "Through her leadership, she and her team have worked tirelessly to elevate our family of community brands, growing our fas REWARDS program and spearheading innovative promotions and new offerings, which has significantly enhanced the customer experience and the benefits we offer our loyal members."
In addition to her position at GPM, Lilly serves as a member of the Convenience Store News Editorial Advisory Board, which consists of retailer representatives from large, small and medium-sized chains from various regions of the country. The board meets via conference call five times a year to share business trends in their regions of the country; regulatory and competitive challenges; and other important issues facing the convenience store industry, such as credit card transaction fees, consumer trends and more. The board's feedback informs the editorial coverage of Convenience Store News.
In 2017, Lilly was named a Woman of the Year in Convenience Store News' fourth-annual Top Women in Convenience awards program, which recognizes a diverse array of women in the convenience retail industry, including leaders, mentors and up-and-comers. Honorees are chosen based on nominations received from their peers, which illustrate their innovative corporate initiatives, extraordinary financial and strategic accomplishments, astute problem-solving acumen, exceptional performance and selfless charitable participation, along with any other attributes that go above and beyond the call of duty.
Lilly began her career in the convenience store industry before pivoting to grocery, but later made the decision to return to the channel.
"I realized how much I preferred the c-store industry to grocery, and some of the supplier partnerships in grocery were the same as c-store, so I found out Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores [MACS] in Richmond, Va., was hiring and I contacted the senior leadership and got a job," Lilly told Convenience Store News in 2017.
Lilly's promotion comes as GPM pursues aggressive growth in grab-and-go and frozen food, bean-to-cup coffee and its digital fas REWARDS loyalty program, as Convenience Store News reported. Earlier this month, parent company Arko Corp. closed out its first full year as a public company with positive financial results and growth in both store count and in-store initiatives, which it intends to continue throughout the rest of 2022.
Based in Richmond, GPM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ARKO Corp. The retailer has approximately 3,100 locations comprised of approximately 1,415 company-operated stores and 1,675 dealer sites to which it supplies fuel.