Senior-Level Leaders
JULIE CANDOW
Supervisor of Retail Operations, Energy North
- Candow has 32 years of experience in the convenience channel.
- She can often be seen stocking store coolers one minute and then helping a new shift leader learn how to use the handheld to place an order the next minute.
- She’s implemented many lessons learned from the NACS Leadership Challenge.
STEPHANIE DOLIVERIA
Vice President of Human Resources, Sheetz Inc.
- Her responsibilities include creating, communicating and implementing Sheet’s vision, mission and overall direction.
- Doliveria and her team worked on an audit of the current organizational capabilities, looking at existing talent, future talent needs, and present-day gaps in competencies.
- She was appointed by the governor to the Pennsylvania Commission on Early Learning Investment.
MARIA FIDELIBUS
Vice President Information Technology, QuickChek Corp.
- Fidelibus played a key role in sourcing and developing QuickChek’s mobile app, and creating the chain’s mobile ordering platform.
- She was the first to execute self-checkout in the c-store industry, partnering with NCR. She also partnered with Xpedient to install self-serve order kiosks in all stores across the chain almost 10 years ago.
- She sits on the board of Alternatives, a community-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals with special needs reach their highest level of independence.
MICHELLE FLEGEL
Vice President, North America Sales & Marketing, Arctic Glacier
- Flagel was responsible for the topline growth of 16 national accounts in her former position as senior director of national accounts at PepsiCo Inc. She led her team and customers through the Joint Business Planning process and co-development of strategic multi-year planning.
- In 2015, she was awarded PepsiCo’s highest honor, the PepsiCo Chairman’s Award, for her cross-functional and cross-divisional work leading the commercial marketing team in the Northeast to bring Super Bowl XLVIII to life at retail.
- She is known for her mentoring skills and has successfully prepared three individuals for promotion over the past year.
ANNE FLINT
Senior Category Manager, Tobacco, Cumberland Farms Inc.
- Flint has been with Cumberland Farms for 21 years and handles tobacco buying for the chain’s 550-plus stores.
- She joined the board of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) in 2014 and currently serves as vice president.
- She is a recipient of NATO’s Pinnacle Award for her government affairs work.
KELLY FULFORD
Senior Category Manager, Convenience, General Mills Convenience & Foodservice
- Fulford is responsible for leading all category management-related activities for key distributors and retailers.
- She has been instrumental in elevating the category management tools and capabilities of General Mills with her ability to break down data and deliver actionable insights.
- The Concordia University graduate recently added an MBA to her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
MELISSA HADLEY
Director, Product Management, The Pinnacle Corp.
- Hadley joined The Pinnacle Corp. as an entry-level employee and has climbed the ranks to the leadership team over her 20-year tenure.
- She was named Pinnacle Manager of the Year four times: 2004, 2006, 2011 and 2013.
- She is a member/contributor of Conexxus (formerly PCATS) since 2003.
HELEN HAYES
Vice President of Tax, Core-Mark Holding Co.
- She manages more than 7,000 filings a year with a staff of just 15.
- Hayes heads the Convenience Distribution Association task force on uniformity issues related to electronic cigarette and tobacco excise tax returns.
- She is the incoming president of the Tax Executive Institute Vancouver, B.C. chapter.
MELANIE ISBILL
Executive Director of Marketing, RaceTrac Petroleum Inc.
- Isbill has been the driver for much of the change in how RaceTrac approaches initiatives needed to grow its presence in the marketplace.
- She is an active member of the LEAD steering committee, a grassroots women’s initiative at RaceTrac.
- She earned an MBA in marketing and finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
JULIE JACKSON
Senior Vice President, General Manager, G&M Oil Co.
- Jackson oversees 150 convenience and fuel retail locations throughout Southern California.
- Her corporate initiatives include the back-office migration of a new accounting system; the creation of a G&M mobile app for Android, Blackberry and iPhone devices; and the launch of a new website.
- She is a member of the Chevron ExtraMile Franchise Advisory Council, NACS Membership Services Committee, and CIOMA Retail Committee.
ROXANNE LOWDER
National Sales & Execution, The Coca-Cola Co., North America
- Lowder is Coca-Cola’s vice president of U.S. sales for the 7-Eleven Global Customer Team.
- She joined the company in 1992 as a Foodservice & On-Premise Account Executive and has progressed through a series of sales leadership roles.
- She is an active member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum, Network of Executive Women, and Women’s Linc at The Coca-Cola Co.
DEBBIE MARKOVICH
Fuel Manager, Quik Stop, The Kroger Co.
- Markovich is the only female fuel manager in the Kroger Convenience Store Division.
- She won the award for highest average weekly gas gallons sold in the Kroger Convenience Store banners in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
- She’s worked for Quik Stop for more than 37 years, starting as a processing clerk.
COLLEEN MCGLINN
CEO, Tri-State Petroleum Corp.
- She joined Tri-State Petroleum in 1997 and served as vice president, general counsel and executive vice president before being elected CEO in 2005.
- McGlinn’s responsibilities include developing strategic plans for the corporation, management of day-to-day operations, and guiding and developing members of the management team.
- She also serves as chairman of Tri-State Petroleum and president of EJC Legacy Inc., the holding company of Tri-State Petroleum.
KAREN MITCHENER
Director of Human Resources, Ricker Oil Co.
- Mitchener has served as leader of the human resources department at Ricker Oil for more than 18 years.
- Training programs that have been developed under her watch include the WOW Experience orientation and the Ricker’s Business Academy.
- She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, East Central Indiana Chapter; and past chair of the Madison County Community Action Program.
LESLIE OWENS
Director, Retail Operations, Tri-State Petroleum Corp.
- Owens joined Tri-State Petroleum in 2014 as a district manager and was promoted to her current position in 2015.
- She is responsible for managing, directing and providing support for all the retail and merchandise managers, and for achieving and maintaining retail business objectives for all c-store operations.
- She began her career in the convenience channel in 1998.
VICTORIA PERSON-GORAL
Area Vice President of Trade Marketing, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
- She is one of the eight executive members of the trade marketing leadership team and is accountable for the southern sales area.
- Person-Goral joined R.J. Reynolds in 2004 when the company merged with Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.
- She is a board member of the Southern Association of Wholesale Distributors and the Northwest North Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross.
SOPHIE PROVENCHER
Marketing & Merchandising Director, CST Brands Inc.
- She heads up the new marketing campaign for the introduction of CST Canada’s fresh foodservice concepts.
- Provencher developed a new website for Corner Store and was very involved in the “Store of the Future” project.
- She began her tenure at CST in 2012 as zone manager.
LORI RODMAN
Vice President of Sales, Century Distributors
- She trains and develops a sales team of more than 40 employees.
- Rodman created the infrastructure to maximize manufacturer programs.
- She cultivates strong category alignment through training and development of her sales organization.
COLEEN SNYDER
East Region Category Manager, H.T. Hackney Co.
- Snyder was the first category manager hired for H.T. Hackney.
- She maintains planograms for the East Region, covering chain accounts for multiple warehouses.
- She is the lead trainer on category management programs used to create customer planograms for retailers.
SANDRA SURRATT
Director, Contract/Convenience Sales, Kellogg Co.
- Surratt manages Kellogg’s agency, alternative retail team and SDA (Seven Day Adventist) channel.
- She increased sales 15.3 percent in the alternative retail channel in 2015 and plans to increase sales an additional 18 percent this year.
- She is a member of WOK: Women of Kellogg.
JEANNE SWISHER
Account Executive, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
- Swisher is responsible for all elements of the marketing mix and commercial business results for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
- She has called on convenience retail for her entire 34-year career at the company.
- She won the 7-Eleven Tobacco Vendor of the Year award in 2014 and the 7-Eleven Best Field Execution Award in 2014 and 2015.
JULIE VAN ALYEA
President, Redwood Oil Co.
- Alyea joined Redwood Oil Co. (ROC) in 2004 as the merchandise manager and became president in 2013.
- From 2004 to 2016, she helped ROC add eight quick-service restaurants and three ground-up gas stations/c-stores.
- She established an employee appreciation and recognition program, and implemented a third-party training platform for management and store-level employees.
ENA WILLIAMS
Senior Vice President, International, 7-Eleven Inc.
- She oversees international operations, licensing and global expansion.
- Williams helped spearhead 7-Eleven’s expansion into Vietnam.
- She has received a leadership coin from 7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto, and is the retailer’s executive sponsor and ambassador for the Network of Executive Women.
KAREN YEAKEL
Executive Director of Investor Relations & Support, CrossAmerica Partners LP
- She partners with senior management, the finance department, communications and public relations to promote and support CrossAmerica Partners.
- Yeakel has been with CrossAmerica Partners and its predecessors for 21 years.
- She is currently vice president on the board of the Lehigh Valley Arts Council.