VIDEO: Convenience Store News Honors Past, Current & Future Leaders

CHICAGO — Nearly 100 industry leaders and some of the most influential people in convenience store history gathered recently to honor the newest members of the Convenience Store News Hall of Fame and the 2019 CSNews Retailer Executive of the Year.

Gus Olympidis, founder, president and CEO of Family Express Corp., and Scott Hill, vice president of convenience sales for Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, were inducted into the Hall of Fame during the 33rd annual ceremony as the retailer and supplier inductees, respectively. Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., was honored as Retailer Executive of the Year.

This particular Hall of Fame ceremony, held Nov. 6 in Chicago, was made extra special by the attendance of several industry luminaries who were recently named among the 50 Most Influential People in Convenience Store History. CSNews compiled this prestigious list earlier this year in celebration of its 50th anniversary. 

Earlier in the day, CSNews also held the second-annual Future Leaders in Convenience Summit. The program featured discussions and talks around what makes a great leader, and what kinds of challenges aspiring leaders need to overcome.

CSNews honored a class of 15 young executives from both large and medium-sized retailers. Their job responsibilities run the gamut from a company president to category managers, financial managers, and fuels, marketing and human resources experts.