Long-Time Convenience Industry Executive Joseph Petrowski Passes Away
FORT WORTH, Texas — The convenience store and fuel retailing lost industry veteran Joseph Petrowski, who recently passed away.
From 2005 through 2013, Petrowski served as CEO and as a member of the board of directors of the Cumberland Farms Gulf Oil Group, a diversified petroleum and retail convenience store holding company that was located in 29 states with more than 7,000 employees and $15 billion in annual revenues.
Cumberland Farms Gulf Oil Group split in 2015 when the Haseotes family, owner of Cumberland Farms, sold Gulf Oil LP to Chelsea Petroleum Products Holdings LLC in 2015. Four years later, EG Group acquired Cumberland Farms and moved its EG America subsidiary's headquarters to Westborough, Mass.
Prior to joining Gulf, Petrowski was president of Louis Dreyfus Energy Services in the early to mid-1990s, followed by president and CEO of Consolidated Natural Gas Energy from 1997 to 2000.
Most recently, Petrowski joined Fort Worth-based Yesway, operator of 420-plus convenience stores across a nine-state footprint, as a senior advisor and member of the company's executive committee.
"Joe's proven track record, decades of experience, and industry connections were invaluable to Yesway's senior management team and me as we executed our strategy to build the Yesway portfolio. His vision, leadership, and commitment to excellence played a pivotal role in shaping Yesway into what it is today," Tom Trkla, chairman and CEO of Yesway, wrote on LinkedIn. "We have lost not only a colleague but also a mentor and a friend. Joe's legacy will continue to inspire us, and his contributions to the industry will be remembered for years to come."
Petrowski, a Harvard University graduate, was a member of the board of South Jersey Industries, a publicly traded natural gas utility and national energy merchant, a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Advisory Council, a trustee of both Boston College High School and Trinity Catholic Schools, and served on the board of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers (SIGMA).
He is survived by his wife and other family members.