People on the Move: Beck Suppliers, Parker's, CDA & Swisher
NATIONAL REPORT — Retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in the convenience store industry are only as good as their management teams and employees. In this special roundup, Convenience Store News runs down the most recent executive changes at the top in the industry.
Bazooka Candy Brands
Bazooka Candy Brands promoted Chris Lomino to senior vice president of sales for the Americas and customer marketing.
He joined the company eight years ago. In his role, Lomino will further enhance Bazooka Candy Brands' strong partnerships with its customers; spearhead key initiatives to drive value for the company, retailers and distributors; and continue to lead and develop a top-notch sales team.
Beck Suppliers Inc.
Industry veteran Joe Rosso retired from Beck Suppliers Inc., finishing out his career as vice president of Branded Fuels at the company.
Rosso joined the Beck Suppliers family in 2013 as a dealer sales representative after spending a significant portion of his career in various corporate roles with BP. The company celebrated Rosso's decade of service with a luncheon.
"We are incredibly fortunate to have had Joe on our team for the past decade," said Dean Beak, company co-owner. "He brought a wealth of knowledge from his 31 years serving in the industry. Joe played an essential role in growing the Branded Fuels Division threefold by building and training a team of exceptional branded fuels specialists. His hands-on leadership approach, coupled with his implementation of new operational processes, developed the branded fuels division into a well-oiled machine, setting a high standard for the organization."
Rosso's success with Beck Suppliers was marked by his transformation in the branded fuel division through business acquisitions and streamlined operations.
"I'm fortunate to have finished 41-year career in this industry with Beck Suppliers," expressed Rosso. "After spending the first three decades in a large corporate environment, an opportunity to work for a successful, family-owned company surfaced. This was a remarkable experience with a culture that is truly unmatched.
"I'm not only proud of the Branded Fuels Division's growth over the last 10 years but also the great people within the organization that made it possible. Beck Suppliers exceeded my expectations as an organization that genuinely cares about their employees like none that I've ever seen before," he added.
CITGO Petroleum Corp.
CITGO made several personnel announcements promoting employees and naming a new member to its board of directors. The moves come as the company expands.
- Joe Carroll, chief information officer: Carroll brings over 35 years of experience in the information technology field. In his new role, Carroll leads CITGO's IT and information security and a portion of its operation technology. He joined CITGO in 1994. During his tenure, he worked as the company's systems engineer and held several IT managerial positions before he was promoted to general manager of IT and information security in 2019.
- Jerry Dunn, vice president of refining: In his new role, he oversees CITGO's operations in refineries in Lake Charles, La.; Lemont, Ill.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Dunn previously served as vice president and general manager of the Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, a position he has held since 2018. He replaces Art Klein, who retired after more than 40 years of service spanning all three CITGO refineries and the corporate office. With over 30 years at the company, Dunn joined the Lake Charles refinery in 1989 as a project manager.
- Sterling Neblett, vice president and general manager: Neblett replaces Dunn at his previous role at the Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, where he began his career in 1990. He served as general manager of engineering and business services at the CITGO Lemont Refinery since August 2021.
- Renee Atkins, general manager: With Neblett's move to vice president and general manager, Atkins fills the role of general manager of Engineering and Business Services at the CITGO Lemont Refinery. Atkins previously worked as Corpus Christi area manager East Plant II. She began her career at the CITGO Lake Charles Refinery in 2004.
In addition to the promotions, CITGO appointed Bob Kent to its board of directors. He brings to CITGO more than 40 years of refining experience in the downstream energy segment, including 13 years at CITGO.
Kent's career in the downstream energy segment includes several leadership and executive positions, including serving as director for privately held Sinclair Oil Co. from 2017 until 2022, prior to Sinclair's merger with Holly Frontier. During his time with CITGO, he served as executive vice president of refining after serving as vice president and general manager of both the Lake Charles refinery and the Lemont refinery. Prior to CITGO, he spent 20 years with Koch Industries Inc.
Convenience Distribution Association
The Convenience Distribution Association (CDA) presented Chad Owen, president of Chambers & Owen in Janesville, Wisc., with the Convenience Distribution Association's Distinguished Leadership Award Feb. 8 at the Convenience Distribution Marketplace in Tampa, Fla.. This award, which has only been given three times before, is in recognition of a member that has continually gone above and beyond in leadership and support of CDA.
Owen became a member of CDA's Executive Committee in 2013 and was an integral part of mapping the direction of CDA during its reorganization and reinvention from the American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) to the Convenience Distribution Association. In 2016, at the age of 36, he served as the youngest-ever CDA chair.
Today, he serves on the board of directors, the Past Chair's Advisory Council, the Events Planning Committee, the CBD/Cannabis Task Force and the Industry Affairs Committee as co-chair of the tobacco subcommittee.
CDA also named Pat Cordle, retired from BIC Consumer Products USA, the Convenience Distribution Association's Dean of the Industry during its annual meeting in February. Cordle began his 34-year career at BIC in 1986 as a sales representative, climbing the corporate ladder to ultimately serve as the company's vice president of field sales in convenience upon his retirement in 2020.
In addition to serving on CDA's board of directors Cordle was an active member of both the Events Planning and Education & Research committees. He also was a founding member and served as chair of the Manufacturer's Advisory Council, and he was instrumental in steering the association through its 2015 reinvention and modernization.
Cordle was inducted into the Convenience Store News Industry Hall of Fame in 2011.
Morinaga America Inc.
Morinaga America Inc., (MAI) the makers of HI-Chew candy, announced Teruhiro Kawabe as its new CEO. He previously served in the executive level at the company. His responsibilities include increasing manufacturing and distribution of MAI products placed in c-stores, as well as leading the marketing team to increase the brand's awareness across Northern and South American markets.
Kawabe has more than 30 years of experience working with Moringa, including his previous role as president and CEO of Morinaga Asia Pacific (MAP) in Bangkok. During his time at MAP, Kawabe grew the HI-CHEW brands distribution footprint throughout New Zealand and Australia, tripling the sales volume in three years.
New York Association of Convenience Stores
The New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) selected Kent Sopris of Delmar, N.Y., as the next president. He joined the staff in mid-February as vice president, working side-by-side with long-time President Jim Calvin, who is retiring on July 1. Sopris will become the fourth president in the association's 35-year history.
Most recently, Sopris was director of the Public Transportation Bureau of the New York State Department of Transportation. Before that, he was director of government affairs for the American Council of Engineering Cos. of New York and later a lobbyist with the Albany, N.Y.-based government relations firm Malkin & Ross.
Parker's
Parker's recently hired three new team members to support the company's growth and continued expansion across coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
Debra Boyette serves as the new food and beverage manager at Parker's. An experienced ServSafe instructor and proctor, Boyette is the former director of training at Bojangles, where she oversaw training initiatives and development programs for more than 600 locations. She brings 15 years of experience at Bojangles to her position at Parker's and previously served as area director, field operations manager, director of franchise operations, and research and development project manager. She also worked as the director of dining services for Morrison Community Living in Charlotte, N.C.
As the new operational accounting manager at Parker's, Lauren Hermansen oversees the accounting team that monitors store transactional data, treasury analysis generated from store revenue, rebate billing and payment tracking as well as sales tax reporting. Before joining Parker's, Hermansen worked for CL Thomas Inc., the parent company for Speedy Stop Food Stores, for 22 years, where she served as an accounting and treasury manager and data analyst and managed all aspects of retail accounting, timely cash reporting and financial reports. Earlier in her career, she worked as a staff accountant at Matthews & Branscomb PC in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Paul Hermansen now serves as the director of technology at Parker's, where he is responsible for technology planning, strategy and implementation. Hermansen brings more than 20 years of experience to his new position, including serving as the director of technology at C.L. Thomas. Earlier in his career, he served as the chief information officer at TriSurant in Houston and a project manager for McKesson/HBO & Co. also in Houston.
Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association welcomed Mike Gould, president of Core-Mark International's Pennsylvania Division, and Rena Shiles, vice president of operations at Albertsons Cos., to its board of directors.
Gould brings extensive experience to the PFMA board on both the retail and distribution side. This includes his work as a market manager with 7-Eleven Inc., in which he oversaw hundreds of convenience stores in north central New Jersey. More recently, he worked as the director of operations at C&S Wholesale Grocer's 550,000-square-foot frozen grocery distribution center in Westfield, Mass.
As vice president of operations at Albertsons Cos., Shiles leads the ACME Markets subsidiary of the Mid-Atlantic Division overseeing 86 grocery stores in central and southern New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware, down to Maryland's Eastern Shore. She joined Albertsons' Safeway Division as an assistant store director in 2016.
Swisher
Swisher hired Jacinta Carter as executive vice president, human resources, people & culture. She will have a vital role in shaping the organization and in transforming the culture necessary to achieve Swisher's long-term vision, and to empower employees in an inclusive culture of growth and opportunity.
Most recently, Carter served as senior vice president, human resources for Atrium Hospitality, where she created a highly sustainable and employee-centric organization, and as a key member of the executive leadership team, growing the company from a small startup into an industry leader. Before Atrium, she was vice president, corporate human resources and corporate communications at Graphic Packaging International.