Casey’s General Stores closed its $1.1 billion acquisition of Fikes Wholesale, including its 198 CEFCO Convenience Stores, in November. That acquisition led to three of this November’s executive shifts, including new leaders for CEFCO’s retail and fuel businesses.
The month also saw EG America make another c-suite change, a new travel center company name three top c-suite members, Refuel make a shift in its foodservice leadership and the departure of Parkland’s Canadian president.
Below is more information on the biggest moves we covered in November. And here’s our executive roundup from October, in case you missed it.
Casey’s makes 3 exec moves after CEFCO acquisition
After closing on its Fikes acquisition, Casey’s named Jay Soupene as senior vice president and head of CEFCO. Soupene had been Casey’s SVP of operational excellence since 2016, and held several other operations and training-focused positions since joining the company in 2011.
Tim Ahrendsen, who has been a divisional VP at Casey’s since 2021, replaces Soupene as SVP of operational excellence. He also worked for more than two years as a regional director at discount retailer Dollar General, and spent more than nine years with business retailer Office Max, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Finally, Nathaniel Doddridge, Casey’s VP of fuels since 2020, was promoted to SVP of fuel operations and oversees CEFCO’s fuel supply, wholesale and transportation operations. Before joining Casey’s in 2017, he spent nearly eight years in a number of fuel and pricing roles with Murphy USA, according to his LinkedIn profile
EG America names new COO
EG America, the U.S. arm of British convenience retailer EG Group, named Elizabeth Pierce as its chief operating officer. She leads EG America’s retail operations, which includes about 1,500 convenience stores across several brands, including Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Kwik Shop, Loaf N’ Jug and Minit Mart.
Pierce most recently spent six years as president and CEO of Applegreen’s U.S. operations, which includes about 165 c-stores and travel centers across 18 states. Before that, she worked in multiple finance roles with Applegreen for nearly a decade.
Cyclum names its C-suite
Cyclum Renewable Truck Stops, a new travel center operator based in North Carolina, named Brian Profitt as its CEO, Polly Flinn as its COO and Pat O’Hagan as its CFO.
Profitt has worked in the c-store industry for more than two decades, starting in an operations role with WilcoHess in 2002, according to his linkedIn bio. That company was acquired by Speedway in 2014, after which Profitt took over as Speedway’s director of travel plaza and restaurant operations. He joined 7-Eleven in 2021, when that company bought Speedway, and spent the past three-plus years as a division director there.
Flinn has spent more than 30 years in and around the convenience store and retail business, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her resumé includes seven years in executive roles with GetGo Cafe + Market, including as the company’s president, and over a decade with BP, including roles such as chief marketing officer and president of U.S. convenience retail.
O’Hagan formerly served as chief financial officer of Brewer-Hendley Oil Company.
Cyclum has put these major c-suite pieces in place as it prepares for its first stores to begin construction next year on the West Coast.
Refuel names new director of foodservice
Refuel Operating Company named Lauren Del Duca director of foodservice.
Del Duca originally joined Refuel in September 2021 as the company’s category manager for foodservice, a role she held for nearly a year and a half. She was then promoted to senior category manager of foodservice, a role she held for nearly two years before taking this director position.
Del Duca’s new role comes a few months after Refuel overhauled its leadership team, naming a new VP of real estate and development, VP of human resources, VP of loss prevention and risk management and VP of facilities and environmental.
Parkland Canada president steps down
Ian White, who spent the last two years as Parkland Canada’s president, left the convenience retailer to become president and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Limited.
White, who began his new role on Nov. 18, has spent the last decade in a number of roles at Parkland, according to his LinkedIn bio. He started with the company as the general manager for Pioneer Energy when its acquisition by Parkland closed in 2015. He was promoted to senior vice president of strategic marketing and innovation in 2017 before taking over as president at the start of 2023.
