Females in Force

From the c-suite to the store level to the independent entrepreneur, women are making their mark on the convenience store industry these days in greater numbers than ever before. Case in point: The second-annual Convenience Store News Top Women in Convenience awards program honors 58 females, almost double the 30 recognized in its inaugural year.

The Top Women in Convenience program celebrates a diverse array of women — from retailer, supplier and wholesaler companies — making a positive impact in the convenience retail channel. This year, in addition to senior-level leaders (positions of vice president and above), rising stars (job titles above store manager, but below vice president) and store managers, the program has been expanded to also recognize mentors (women who have made an extraordinary impact on the careers of their colleagues) and single-store owners.

The honorees are chosen based on nominations received from their peers. Drawing from achievements during the previous 12 months, nominators were asked to illustrate the candidate’s innovative corporate initiatives, extraordinary financial and strategic accomplishments, astute-problem solving acumen, exceptional performance and selfless charitable participation, along with other attributes that go above and beyond the call of duty.

This year’s judging was conducted by Convenience Store News in conjunction with the Network of Executive Women (NEW) and the newly formed Top Women in Convenience Advisory Board, which includes all five 2014 Women of the Year honorees.

The judging panel selected 22 senior-level leaders, five mentors, 18 rising stars, five store managers and three single-store owners to receive the esteemed title of Top Women in Convenience for 2015. Like last year, the panel also chose five nominees as the best of the best from among all the nominations and awarded them the title of Women of the Year.

Recognized for their exceptional impact on the success or direction of their company, as well as their positive impact on the convenience store industry, the 2015 Women of the Year are:

• Jenny Bullard, chief information officer, Flash Foods Inc.
• Kimberli Carroll, senior vice president, foodservice division, Ruiz Food Products Inc.
• Tammy Floyd, vice president/controller, CST Brands Inc.
• Stacy Loretz-Congdon, senior VP/chief financial officer, Core-Mark Holding Co. Inc.
• Sandra Morgenstern, president/CEO, Par Mar Oil Co.

All of the honorees will be celebrated at an awards presentation taking place during the 2015 NACS Show, the largest annual gathering of the convenience store industry. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Read on for spotlights of this year’s Top Women in Convenience.