Dive Brief:

• 7-Eleven Inc. has recently undergone a series of executive changes across its merchandising, foodservice and advisory departments, a company spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.
• Notable moves include the promotions of Jesus Delgado-Jenkins to executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, Dennis Phelps to senior vice president of merchandising, Dave Strachan to senior vice president of fresh foods, and Kristen Cook to vice president and chief of staff.
• A company spokesperson declined to comment on specific details of each executive move, but noted that these shifts occurred in May.

Dive Insight:

While it remains unclear why 7-Eleven has chosen to shuffle its executive team, these changes come as its parent company, Seven & i Holdings, continues to fight investors over its corporate strategy. One of its investors, ValueAct, last week called for Seven & i to review its leadership and corporate governance, even after Seven & i’s recent board elections.

Delgado-Jenkins, who first joined 7-Eleven in 2010, took over as chief merchandising officer in May, according to a LinkedIn post. He said in a post on the professional networking site that he returned to the retailer in 2021 following a brief retirement and held two roles — executive vice president of technology, innovation and experience; and senior vice president of business development and chief growth officer — over the next 24 months. 

As chief merchandising officer, Delgado-Jenkins leads 7-Eleven’s digital, merchandising and merchandise operations, including category management, analytics, product introductions, new category and profit center development and store sets, according to his company bio.

Meanwhile, Jack Stout, 7-Eleven’s former chief merchandising officer, has become executive vice president of fresh foods, value chain and logistics, according to 7-Eleven’s leadership web page. Stout’s LinkedIn bio notes that he began this role in May.

Stout has worked in numerous positions since joining 7-Eleven in 2003, including vice president of business and financial planning to director of store development strategy, according to his company bio.

Phelps, who previously was 7-Eleven’s vice president of information technology merchandising operations, announced his promotion to senior vice president of merchandising for vault and proprietary beverages in May via LinkedIn. 

Phelps has held numerous roles over the course of his 39 years with 7-Eleven, ranging from vice president of fresh foods and proprietary beverages to vice president of IT merchandising operations, according to his company bio.

On the foodservice side, Strachan noted on his LinkedIn profile that he took on the role of senior vice president of fresh foods in May. 

Strachan has worked for 7-Eleven in a variety of roles since 2009, most recently as vice president of united franchise zone, according to his company bio.

Cook announced on June 1 via LinkedIn that she was named chief of staff to the CEO at 7-Eleven. As of mid May, this role belonged to Onutase DeHenre, whose LinkedIn profile now says that, as of this month, he is 7-Eleven’s vice president of data and “RI acceleration.” 

Each of these executives either announced their new roles via LinkedIn or updated their LinkedIn bio to reflect the position changes in either May or June. As of mid May, 7-Eleven’s management web page did not reflect its current leadership roster, and lacked many of the executives who announced their new roles via LinkedIn in recent weeks.

These executive changes coincided with 7-Eleven naming Stan Reynolds, former chief financial officer, as company president, a role formerly held by CEO Joseph DePinto. CSP Daily News first reported that shift. 

David Seltzer, former vice president and treasurer for 7-Eleven, has since succeeded Reynolds as CFO, as reflected on 7-Eleven’s leadership page.

Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven has 83,000 stores across 19 countries and regions, including over 13,000 in the U.S.