EG America has appointed John Carey as CEO and president, effective Oct. 1. The interim EG America president, Nick Unkovic, will revert to his role as chief legal and administrative officer of EG America.
Carey, who had a 10-year career at bp, held senior positions including CEO of Castrol's global business encompassing the aviation, industrial, marine and energy businesses, and the same position leading bp's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business.
In addition, Carey has been a non-executive member of EG’s board since November 2020. As a result of this appointment, Carey will become an executive director on the board, and EG Group will commence a process to identify and appoint a new non-executive director to join the board in due course.
“EG Group is a great business, which I have learned first-hand,” said Carey. “EG America has a strong platform and a clear strategy to drive growth at its market-leading sites through enhancing its convenience retail and foodservice offering across its much-loved banners. It will be a privilege for me to lead EG America, and I very much look forward to meeting colleagues and key stakeholders. I can’t wait to get started.”
Carey succeeds George Fournier, who became president of the Westborough, Massachusetts-based chain in December 2019 but stepped down in the fourth quarter of 2022 for personal reasons.
He returned to work in May as senior vice president of supply chain on a part-time schedule with the goal of ramping up to full time, according to sources. Fournier held this role prior to being promoted to president in 2019.
Caroline Taitelbaum, CFO for EG America, who initially stepped in for Fournier during his illness in October, left the company in June, and Unkovic became interim president.
“John is the ideal leader to drive forward EG America’s proven strategy,” said Zuber Issa, co-CEO of EG Group. “He has an excellent track record and knowledge of the sector, as well as a detailed understanding of the Group’s ambitious plans for EG America. We look forward to working closely with John in his new role as we continue to execute our growth strategy with the support of US colleagues. I would like to sincerely thank Nick and George for their continued contribution and support.”
- EG America, with retail brands including Cumberland Farms, is No. 5 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of company-owned retail outlets.
EG Group, based in Blackburn in the United Kingdom, established itself in the United States in 2018 as EG America by acquiring Kroger’s 762-site c-store network. It acquired TravelCenters of America’s Minit Mart c-store business for approximately $330.8 million in 2018. The portfolio included 225 c-stores. And in 2019, among other acquisitions, EG Group acquired Cumberland Farms and its nearly 660 c-stores in the Northeast and Florida, and EG America now has its headquarters in Westborough, Mass. With more than 1,750 sites across 33 states, U.S. c-store brands include Cumberland Farms, Certified Oil, Fastrac, Kwik Shop, Loaf N’ Jug, Minit Mart, Quik Stop, Sprint Food Stores, Tom Thumb and Turkey Hill.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.