Pilot Co. & bp to Headline Convenience Store News 2023 Technology Leadership Roundtable
CHICAGO — A year and a half ago, Pilot Co. embarked on its $1 billion New Horizons initiative, a three-year program aimed at overhauling hundreds of its travel centers across the country and improving the Pilot experience for customers and employees alike.
The project includes full remodels of more than 400 Pilot and Flying J locations, and upgrades at several more locations, as part of the company's largest investment in store modernization yet. Based on feedback from customers and team members, the company designed complete store overhauls that include remodeled showers and restrooms, improved driver-focused amenities, expanded kitchen and dining areas, expanded digital engagement, and installation of the latest in fueling and retail technology.
In June 2022, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company unveiled the first four remodels under the program. By June 2023, Pilot Co. completed more than 80 store remodels.
With New Horizons at its midway point, Convenience Store News will sit down with Mike Rodgers, executive vice president, chief technology officer at Pilot Flying J, at the 2023 CSNews Technology Leadership Roundtable to discuss the role technology plays in the initiative. The fireside chat will touch on tech issues such as omnichannel, mobile apps and team member technologies.
Held against the backdrop of the 2023 NACS Show in Atlanta, the Oct. 3 event will bring together convenience store technology executives to discuss hot topics, emerging trends and pain points in convenience channel technology.
Also at the intimate get-together, CSNews will honor bp as the 2023 Technology Leader of the Year as the company leans into convenience — primarily through its ampm and Thorntons chains — and embraces the changing mobility scene. This annual award goes to a technology leader (individual or company) that not only contributes to the success of their organization, but also to the advancement and growth of the convenience store industry as a whole.
[Read more: Convenience Store News' 2023 Technology Leader of the Year Is...]
Greg Franks, senior vice president of mobility and convenience, bp Americas; Debi Boffa, CEO-designate of TravelCenters of America; and Lisa Blalock, vice president, U.S. convenience, bp, will be on hand to accept the honor.
Retailers interested in attending should contact CSNews Executive Editor Melissa Kress at [email protected].
For sponsorship information, contact Paula Lashinsky, senior vice president and group publisher, US Grocery & Convenience Group, at [email protected].
The 2023 CSNews Technology Leadership Roundtable & Dinner is sponsored by Altria Group Distribution Co., PayiQ and Stuzo, and the Technology Leader of the Year award is sponsored by Paytronix.