People on the Move: Core-Mark, NEW, OPMCA, Parker's & Skupos
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.
A&W Restaurants
Dave Crowley joined A&W Restaurants to head franchise development for the growing chain, as it approaches its 100th anniversary. In his newest capacity as director of franchise recruitment, Crowley will recruit new franchisees and assist with location selection.
Between 1997 and 2010, Crowley held various development positions with A&W. He returns after development stints with such brands as Yum! Brands, Little Caesars and Marco's Pizza.
Core-Mark Holding Co.
Core-Mark Holding Co. created a new enterprise growth position and named new heads for Eastern and Western divisions. All three appointments take effect Jan. 1.
The company's latest personnel moves are:
- William G. Stein has been named to the new position of senior vice president, Enterprise Growth, with responsibility for overseeing and executing on Core-Mark's growth strategies, including those related to market share expansion, helping customers grow their sales profitability and executing on our category management initiatives. Stein is currently senior vice president, Eastern Divisions.
- Christopher K. Hobson has been named senior vice president, Eastern Divisions, succeeding Stein and moving from overseeing the company's Western Divisions.
- Alan T. Thomas has been named senior vice president, Western Divisions, succeeding Hobson and moving up from his previous role of division president of the company's Corona, Calif., division.
Stein is a 25-year Core-Mark veteran, Hobson is an 18-year company veteran, and Thomas is a 17-year company's veteran.
Lil' Drug Store Products
Lil' Drug Store Products' (LDSP) Paul Rossberger, vice president of sales, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from WAM Distributors. Rossberger is only the fourth recipient of this award in WAM's history. Rossberger's leadership helped WAM increase sales of health and beauty care items by 53 percent and outperform the channel growth by 7 percent over the past five years.
Rossberger joined LDSP nearly 20 years ago as a sales manager and currently leads a team of regional sales managers and merchandisers.
Mars Wrigley Confectionery
Mars Wrigley Confectionery named Michael Gilroy as its new vice president of trade development. Gilroy brings a wealth of industry knowledge and category insights to the company, which will be instrumental as he leads industry relations and key initiatives for our company and within the industry as a whole, Mars Wrigley Confectionery announced.
Network of Executive Women
The Network for Executive Women (NEW) recognized PepsiCo Inc. Chairman Indra K. Nooyi with its William J. Grize Award.
The William J. Grize Award is named for the late president and CEO of Stop & Shop, an early champion of gender diversity. Since 2011, the William J. Grize Award has honored industry leaders who have demonstrated "an enduring commitment to the advancement of women and to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace."
"Indra's contributions to the retail and consumer goods industry cannot be overstated. But, just as great, have been her contributions to gender equality in the workplace," said NEW President and CEO Sarah Alter.
Nooyi served as CEO of PepsiCo Inc. for 12 years before stepping down Oct. 3. She was the chief architect of Performance with Purpose, PepsiCo's promise to do what's right for the business by doing what's right for people and the planet.
She serves as co-chair of the NEW Future Fund, a $5-million fund-raising campaign to support NEW's investments in learning programs, technology, research and insights aimed at achieving gender equality in retail, consumer goods, financial services and technology.
Ohio Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Members of the Ohio Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association elected new leadership and four new directors to serve three-year terms on its board of directors.
The four newly elected directors are: Bob Manning, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Lykins Energy Solutions, Milford; Greg Ehrlich, president, Beck Suppliers Inc., Fremont; Jason Wittekind, treasurer and chief operating officer (COO), Triumph Energy Corp., Harrison; and Jennifer Berlin, chairman, president and CEO, Ullman Oil Co. LLC, Chagrin Falls.
Manning will also serve as chairman of the board for 2018-2019. In addition, Ryan Howard, COO, truenorth, Brecksville, was elected vice chairman for 2018-2019 vice chairman.
OPW
OPW, part of Dover and a global leader in fluid-handling solutions, named Gary Campbell the new general manager for its PDQ Vehicle Wash Systems business. Prior to joining PDQ, Campbell was Dover's vice president of integration for global mergers and acquisitions.
Before embarking on his career with Dover, he held a variety of roles at GE Capital, United Technologies and Deloitte.
Parker's
Parker's promoted Controller Keith Saltzman to director of finance. In his new position, Saltzman is responsible for leading the company's accounting team, developing budgets, innovating processes for efficiency and sharing financial data with the executive team to assist in decision-making.
Before joining Parker's as controller in 2017, Saltzman served as the chief financial officer and controller for JD Byrider and CNAC in Savannah, Ga.
In addition, Parker's hired Corey B. McClimans as its new chief human resources officer. In his new position, McClimans is responsible for advancing the human resources department at Parker's it continues to expand its footprint throughout the region.
McClimans has more than 17 years of experience in providing human resource leadership and support to employees as well as company management. Prior to joining Parker's, he was the senior manager of human resources at the Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Inc.
PepsiCo Inc.
Albert P. Carey, CEO, PepsiCo North America, will retire at the end of March after nearly four decades at PepsiCo. Vivek Sankaran, who currently serves as president and chief operating officer (COO) of Frito-Lay North America, will now become its CEO, and Kirk Tanner, who currently serves as president and COO of North America Beverages, will become its CEO.
"Al has been an invaluable leader, colleague, advisor and friend, and will be missed by all of us at PepsiCo and all of the customers and partners he worked with over his exemplary career," said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo CEO. "Al's unique combination of style, skill, entrepreneurial spirit and executional excellence, has helped make PepsiCo one of the most admired businesses in the world, and raised the bar for our current and future associates. We wish him all the best in his next chapter. While Al leaves big shoes to fill, I have every confidence in our North America businesses under the skilled leadership of Vivek and Kirk in these critical roles."
Skupos Inc.
Skupos Inc. CEO Jake Bolling was selected as one of Forbes "30 Under 30" for 2019 in the Retail & Ecommerce Category. "This is an honor I could not have achieved without our loyal customers and the fantastic team at Skupos. We will continue to work hard to surface data insights to increase business for our convenience store partners and the supply chain that supports them," Bolling said of the selection.
Welbilt Inc.
Welbilt Inc.'s board of directors elected William C. Johnson as president and CEO. Johnson, who took over the role on Nov. 9, will also join the company's board.
Prior to joining Welbilt, Johnson was CEO of Chart Industries Inc., a global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment for the industrial gas, energy, and biomedical industries. From 2006 to 2016, he held various senior level positions at Dover Corp., a leading global conglomerate manufacturer of industrial products.
Earlier in his career, Johnson served as president and CEO of Graham Corp. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president of ESAB Welding and Cutting Equipment. From 1990 to 1999, he held various positions of increasing responsibility at ABB.
Johnson began his career as a commissioned officer and nuclear engineer in the United States Navy where he served from 1985 to 1990.