Kwik Trip CEO Don Zietlow to Retire
LA CROSSE, Wis. — After 52 years, Kwik Trip Inc. President and CEO Don Zietlow is retiring, effective Dec. 31. He has spent 22 years in his current role.
Kwik Trip's chair of the board and second-generation owner Scott Zietlow will succeed Don Zietlow, effective Jan. 1, 2023. He will retire from his role as a professor of surgery in the Trauma, Critical Care and General Surgery Division of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to assume his new responsibilities at Kwik Trip.
"I am honored to follow my dad's legacy of guiding Kwik Trip," Scott Zietlow said. "We are a very strong company and with our 36,000 phenomenal co-workers, great retail locations and industry-leading vertical integration, our future is bright."
During Kwik Trip's 50th anniversary celebration in 2015, Don Zietlow said the company is "in good hands" with the second and third generations of the Zietlow family.
According to retailer's website, Kwik Trip's first convenience store opened in Eau Claire, Wis., in 1965. Five years later, Kwik Trip added gasoline sales to that store. The retailer expanded its reach to La Crosse — the town it calls home — and grew its portfolio to five stores in 1971.
In 1972, Don Zietlow and John Hansen established ownership positions, and the company remained jointly owned until the Zietlow family bought the Hansen family's interest in 2000.
Fast forward to the present day, Don Zietlow's leadership has brought substantial growth and innovation to Kwik Trip. The company currently operates more than 800 locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan. Kwik Trip's Support Center in La Crosse has also grown vertically, including major capital investments in the dairy, kitchens, bakeries and distribution center.
During his tenure, Don Zietlow was the driving force behind sharing 40 percent of the company's pretax profits with all co-workers.
He was inducted into the Convenience Store News Hall of Fame in 2015.
As part of the new leadership team at Kwik Trip, Tom Reinhart has been appointed chief operating officer. Jeff Wrobel will continue his role as chief financial officer.