Susser Makes Management & Board Changes
CORPUS CHRISTI and HOUSTON, Texas – Susser Holdings Corp. (SUSS) and Susser Petroleum Partners LP (SUSP) today announced several changes to their board of directors and management promotions.
Sam L. Susser has been appointed chairman of the SUSS board of directors, effective immediately. He will retain his position as CEO of SUSS, which he has held since 1992. Current chairman Bruce W. Krysiak will become lead independent director. Additionally, Rob L. Jones will become lead independent director of Susser Petroleum Partners GP LLC, the general partner of SUSP.
"I'm honored to be named chairman," said Sam Susser. "I'd like to thank Bruce for his 13 years of service as our chairman, and I look forward to working with him and our fellow directors in this new capacity. Bruce will continue to provide strategic counsel leveraging his distinguished career in retailing as the lead director at SUSS as he has in the past years. Rob joined the board of SUSP concurrent with the [initial public offering] last September, and his deep financial experience and natural curiosity has only enhanced our board discussions and processes."
SUSS has seven board members, five of whom are classified as independent, according to the announcement. The SUSP general partner board also has seven members, five of whom are classified as independent and three of whom also serve on the conflicts committee.
"Sam has led the growth of this company since it was a chain of only five convenience stores in 1988. He has been, and continues to be, an excellent steward of the company for all of our stakeholders," said Krysiak. "Now that we have active boards at both SUSS and SUSP, we believe his appointment as chairman of SUSS is a natural and appropriate progression as we position the company for continued growth and success. I look forward to continuing to serve alongside Sam in my new role as lead director."
Additionally, Frank A. Risch has been elected to the Susser Petroleum Partners GP board of directors and Andrew M. "Drew" Alexander has been elected to the SUSS board of directors.
Risch, who was named to the audits and conflicts committees of the board, served as vice president, treasurer and principal financial officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. from January 1999 until his June 2004 retirement. Previously, he served as vice president and treasurer of predecessor Exxon Corp. Risch joined Exxon as a financial analyst and later held positions as manager of corporate finance, executive assistant to the chairman, assistant controller and assistant treasurer.
"Frank brings to our company long experience in the petroleum business," said Sam Susser. "His extensive knowledge and experience across finance, planning and marketing within our industry will be a major asset to our board."
Alexander will serve as a Class I director, with a term expiring in 2016, and has been named to the compensation committee of the SUSS board. He has served as CEO of Weingarten Realty since 2001 and president since 1997. From 1993 to 1997, he was executive vice president/asset manager. Alexander joined Weingarten Realty in 1978 as a leasing executive in the retail division, and previously served as a director of Academy Sports & Outdoors Inc.
"Drew's extensive senior executive experience in the real estate sector and capital markets will provide additional industry perspective to our board," said Sam Susser. "His expertise in development, leasing and complex financial and real estate transactions will prove invaluable as we continue to accelerate the development of new Stripes convenience store locations across our Texas markets."
PROMOTIONS
Several management promotions were also announced. Rocky Dewbre was named president and CEO of the general partner of Susser Petroleum Partners. Since joining Susser in 1992, Dewbre most recently served as president and chief operating officer of SUSP's general partner. Sam Susser will relinquish his position as CEO of SUSP, but will retain his position as chairman of the board of directors of SUSP.
Gail Workman has been promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer at the general partner of SUSP. She joined Susser Petroleum Co., the predecessor of SUSP, in 2011 and most recently served as senior vice president of sales and operations. Workman has more than 20 years of experience in senior sales and operations positions within the energy industry.
Kevin Mahany was promoted to senior vice president, merchandising at Stripes LLC. He previously served as vice president, merchandising. He has led the merchandising team since he joined the company in 1989.
"Rocky, Gail and Kevin have each been instrumental in making this company what it is today," said Sam Susser.
"Rocky's leadership in growing and developing the wholesale division positioned us to be able to create and spin off Susser Petroleum Partners LP, a transaction which has clearly unlocked and driven tremendous value for our shareholders," he continued. "Since joining the company a little more than two years ago, Gail has enhanced our organizational capability and developed bandwidth to support our future growth. Kevin joined the company shortly after I did, and he has provided the steady, intense leadership that has delivered 24 consecutive years of same-store merchandise sales growth."
Corpus Christi, Texas-based Susser Holdings Corp. operates approximately 570 convenience stores and gas stations in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma under the Stripes banner. Susser Petroleum Partners LP distributes more than 1.5 billion gallons of motor fuel annually to Stripes stores, as well as other retail outlets.