People on the Move: Parker's, MPC, Growth Energy & ZipLine

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, new hires, promotions and people achievements happening in the industry.

Acosta 

Acosta named Tom Duffy as executive vice president, industry affairs. Reporting directly to president and CEO Steve Matthesen, he will be responsible for strengthening Acosta’s leadership at the industry level and with key trade organizations to help advance the evolution of the retail space, as well as support the ongoing growth and success of Acosta’s business.
 
With 30 years of experience, Duffy most recently served as vice president, industry services at Nielsen, where he managed the continuous development of client, partner and industry relations across North America. Previously, Duffy served as director, business and industry partnership at TDLinx, Nielsen’s location information management solution.

Dot Foods

Dot Foods announced three key role changes among its retail channel sales team. Ryan P. Jacobsen has been named director of grocery sales; Mandi Clark has been promoted to director of customer service and development; and Devin Fogleman will take over Clark's convenience channel responsibilities in a reconfigured role of director of convenience, drug and mass. 

Jacobsen, Clark and Fogleman began transitioning to their new roles at the start of 2017. Those transitions were expected to be completed by March 1.

Growth Energy

Racing legend Richard Childress, a members of the Growth Energy board of directors, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. 

Childress got his racing start in 1969 and earned 76 top 10 finishes in 285 races. He later founded Richard Childress Racing, a 12-time NASCAR championship-winning organization. In 2011, Childress helped launch the NASCAR Green initiative, which included a switch to Sunoco Green E15. 

J&J Snack Foods Corp.

J&J Snack Foods Corp. (JJSF) announced several promotions at its annual shareholders meeting on Feb. 15. JJSF has appointed the following to new positions: 

  • Alissa Davis: vice president, marketing 
  • Jeffery Gaddy: vice president bakery operations
  • Bo Powell: vice president, foodservice sales 
  • Marjorie Shreiber-Roshkoff: vice president/general council 
  • John Stefanik: vice president, bakery sales 

"As JJSF continues to grow, we are proud and excited to expand our management team," said CEO Gerald Shreiber. "These newly appointed vice presidents have an ability of leading their respective teams, while executing our corporate strategic vision. These dedicated employees have numerous years of experience, both at JJSF, as well as the overall food industry. We look forward to their continued success in the years ahead." 

During the meeting, Gerald Shreiber also announced the appointment of John Griffith to chief information officer.

Kellogg Co.

Kellogg Co. named Fareed Khan chief financial officer (CFO) and principal financial officer. He succeeded Ron Dissinger as CFO, effective Feb. 17. Dissinger will remain with the company in 2017 to ensure an orderly transition. 

Khan joins Kellogg from US Foods Holding Corp. where he has held the CFO position since 2013 and successfully led the company's Initial Public Offering last year. Prior to US Foods, Khan served as senior vice president and CFO at United Stationers and spent 12 years at USG Corp. in a variety of finance, business and leadership roles, including executive vice president of finance and strategy, president and CEO of USG Building Systems, and executive vice president of sales and marketing.  

Khan's experience also includes several years at McKinsey & Co. as a management consultant in the United States and Europe.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. 

J. Mike Stice was elected to Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s (MPC) board of directors, effective Feb. 22. Stice joins the MPC board with a career that spans more than 35 years in the upstream and midstream gas businesses, including as CEO of Access Midstream Partners LP.

Stice began his career in 1981 with Conoco. He was named president of ConocoPhillips Qatar in 2006. In 2008, he was named president and chief operating officer of Chesapeake Midstream Development LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp., and senior vice president of natural gas projects for Chesapeake. In 2009, he was named CEO of Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP.

He was designated a director of Chesapeake Midstream Partners, which changed its name to Access Midstream in 2012. Stice continued as CEO until his retirement in 2014, and remained on the board of directors until 2015.

Currently, Stice serves as dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth & Energy at the University of Oklahoma, a position he assumed in August 2015. He is a member of the board of directors at U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. and a former director on the MarkWest Energy Partners LP board.

Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc.

Several executives were promoted at Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., including Thomas E. Kelso, who was elected by the board of directors to serve as president. This new role will be in addition to his current responsibilities as managing director and principal and head of Matrix's Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Group.

In addition, David W. Shoulders has been promoted to managing director and head of Matrix's Consumer & Industrial Products Group; William J. O’Flaherty, a member of Matrix's Consumer & Industrial Products Group, has been promoted to vice president; Stephen C. Lynch, a member of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Group, has been promoted to vice president; and John C. Duni, a member of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Group, has been promoted to associate.  

The National Association of Shell Marketers 

Valerie Kelley Amsden of Kelley Fuels in Shakopee, Minn., has been re-elected as chairperson of the National Association of Shell Marketers (NASM) for 2017. She is only the second person to serve two terms as board chair in the history of NASM. Her father is former NASM Chairman Vern Kelley.

Amsden has worked full time in the family business, Kelley Fuels, since 2006. Starting as office manager, she is currently chief financial officer and manages the Shell brand for all Kelley Fuels dealer locations. Amsden has served on the NASM board since 2012.

Other members of NASM's 2017 board include:

  • Ex-Officio Past Chairman: Joe Balestreri, Southern Counties Oil Co., Rancho Cordova, Calif. 
  • Vice Chairperson: Stacey Fineburg, Consumers Petroleum Corp., Trenton, N.J. 
  • Treasurer: Monty Behrane, DAG Petroleum Suppliers LLC, Springfield, Va. 
  • Corporate Secretary: Shell Sheldon, Sheldon Oil Co., Tillamook, Ore.

Parker's

Parker's recently hired financial expert Keith Saltzman as the company's controller. In his new position, he is responsible for overseeing all company accounting, financial reporting, tax reporting and financial data audits.   
 
Before joining Parker's, he served as the chief financial officer and controller for JD Byrider and CNAC in Savannah, Ga. During his tenure with the company, he also served as a general manager, branch finance manager, national consumer affairs case manager, and funding department representative at JD Byrider and CNAC.

Parker's also hired retail industry veteran Troy Krout as district manger. In his new position, Krout is responsible for overseeing daily operations at Parker's stores in coastal Georgia and the South Carolina Lowcountry. Before joining Parker's, he served as district manager at Sheetz Inc., where he oversaw the operation of 15 convenience stores and opened 25 locations in eastern Pennsylvania.
 
Over the course of his career, he also worked as a district manager for Five Guys in York, Penn.; store manager at Weis Market in Sunbury, Penn.; and district manager at Burger King in Harrisburg, Penn.

R.M. Palmer 

Brielle Monestime has joined R.M. Palmer as brand manager. In this position, she will focus on new product development, managing web and social media initiatives and marketing programs. Prior to joining R.M. Palmer, Monestime worked as the retail marketing manager at Mustela, a New York-based skincare company for babies and children. There, she was responsible for category and product management including new product launches, retail merchandising and brand education.

Ready Pac Foods Inc.

Ready Pac Foods Inc. promoted Andrea Dimond to vice president of sales. She joined Ready Pac Foods in April 2016 with more than 25 years of sales and distribution experience within several brands under Nestlé and Bimbo Bakeries. In her new role, Dimond is responsible for leading the Direct Store Delivery, Southwest Region, National Natural and Small Format Sales Teams. Dimond reports directly to Chief Sales Officer Jay Ellis.

The company also promoted AJ Bernstein to vice president, marketing strategy & operations. In her role, Bernstein leads brand strategy and operations within the Innovation Team.

Bernstein has worked at Ready Pac Foods for the last year, starting her career at the company as director of marketing, new platforms, where she launched several successful new products. She then took on additional responsibilities as director, marketing strategy & operations.

Tabacalera USA 

Tabacalera USA, the U.S.-based premium cigar operations of Imperial Brands plc, appointed Rob Norris general manager of its Altadis U.S.A. premium cigar division. He will report to Javier Estades, the head of Tabacalera USA. Prior to joining Tabacalera USA, Norris had served as CEO of JR Cigar since January 2014. Prior to JR Cigar, he was the head of sales and trade marketing for Altadis U.S.A.

VMR Products

VMR Products appointed Miriam Martinez-Sorto as vice president, e-commerce and online marketing. In her new role, she will oversee, and subsequently drive the company's online B2C marketing efforts and merchandising domestically and internationally.

Martinez-Sorto joined VMR as online marketing manager in 2012. Prior to joining the company, she was co-founder of Reesbook LLC, an online real estate platform. Her previous experience includes executive roles at Unilever and Wells Fargo. 

ZipLine 

Russell Scudder has been named president and chief operating officer at Zipline, reporting directly to chairman and CEO Stephen Goodrich.

Scudder comes to ZipLine from Next Gen Payment Solutions where he served as president and CEO. As president of ZipLine, Scudder will direct a senior leadership team responsible for all functional areas of the business, including current efforts in payment, loyalty and data analytics solutions to the convenience and fuel marketing space, as well as emerging markets. 

In addition, Jay Meyers joined ZipLine as chief information officer, reporting directly to Scudder. In this role, Meyers will be responsible for overseeing the company's information technology, including its processing platform, associated systems, infrastructure, security, project and product management teams.

Most recently, Meyers was senior vice president of software development of EVO Payments International.

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