EG America announced Monday that Brian Ferguson — who formerly worked as chief merchant for Pilot Company — is its new chief marketing officer.
In the new role, Ferguson will head up retail merchandising, food and dispensed beverage, marketing, category management and all merchandising support functions for EG America.
Ferguson spent just over seven years in the chief merchant role at Pilot — a period that saw the travel center retailer launch a major remodeling program and sell a significant stake of the company to Berkshire Hathaway. He has also held roles at AM Retail Group and The Children’s Place, and spent nearly 15 years working for clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch, according to his LinkedIn bio. He left that role in November, his profile notes.
Ferguson brings notable expertise in digital transformation and working with artificial intelligence to EG America, as the company charts a growth path under new president and CEO John Carey. He has spoken at industry events about the use of AI and noted in his LinkedIn profile that it fueled strategic decisions he made while at Pilot. Ferguson has also provided strategic consulting on the topic, according to his profile.
“If you walk through a Walgreens or Sam’s Club or Walmart or Kroger, you don’t have to go very far until you see AI and technology in action,” Ferguson said during a presentation at last year’s NACS Show in Atlanta.
EG America also announced on Monday that it has named BJ’s Wholesale Club veteran Brian Potvin as its vice president of procurement — a move C-Store Dive reported last month.
These executives appointments come as parent company EG Group looks to expand in the U.S. while also cleaning up its balance sheet. The company offloaded $1.5 billion in a sale-leaseback deal last year and in September named Carey as its new leader. Last month, EG America laid off around 90 corporate employees across its store support arm.
“After becoming CEO in October 2023, John Carey has a vision of growth and next level potential for the company,” a spokesperson for EG America said in an email. “These new leaders are essential in helping him drive that mission while strengthening vital areas of the business.”
Blackburn, U.K.-based EG Group currently has more than 5,500 c-stores across the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, Europe and Australia. EG America is EG Group’s largest operation globally, with 1,645 sites across 10 banners in 30 states, including Cumberland Farms, Fastrac, Kwik Shop and Tom Thumb.
