Casey’s shuffles leadership to bring food and insights teams closer

Dive Brief:

Casey’s General Stores quietly made several executive changes in recent months as a means to grow and evolve its merchandising organization, specifically in the areas of food and insights, a company spokesperson said.
Casey’s promoted Brad Haga to senior vice president of prepared food and dispensed beverages and Chris Stewart to vice president of merchandising in April, the spokesperson confirmed.
Haga, who had been Casey’s VP of merchandising since 2020, now leads the retailer’s prepared food and dispensed beverages team, as well as Casey’s brand and strategic insights group, the spokesperson said. As Haga's successor, Stewart now manages Casey’s grocery and general merchandise division.

Dive Insight:

These executive changes bring Casey’s food and insights teams closer together, which the company ultimately believes will bring added benefits to its overall innovation process, the spokesperson said.

Haga joined Casey’s in 2020 as vice president of merchandising after spending 17 years with 7-Eleven, according to his LinkedIn bio. Notable roles Haga held at the Irving, Texas-based retailer included senior director of merchandising, senior director of fresh foods and proprietary beverages, and senior director of Europe and Latin America.

Stewart has also been with Casey’s since 2020. After joining the company as director of packaged beverages, he became division vice president of Casey’s Southwest sector in 2021, where he oversaw teams at over 500 locations, the spokesperson noted.

Prior to joining Casey's, Stewart also held numerous roles with 7-Eleven over the course of a decade, including senior category manager of non-alcoholic beverages, market manager and zone merchandiser, according to his LinkedIn bio.

Ashenafi Tekeste has taken over Stewart’s former role.

Both Haga and Stewart now report to Tom Brennan, chief merchandising officer at Casey’s, the spokesperson said.

Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s operates more than 2,400 c-stores in 16 states and is the third-largest c-store chain in the U.S. by store count.