DALLAS -- 7-Eleven president and CEO Joe DePinto went "undercover" last week, working incognito as a convenience store employee-in-training named "Danny Rossi," according to a story posted on the 7-Eleven Inc. Career Blog.
The experience was an opportunity to see the company from the inside out, the blog said. DePinto's mission: Spend one week working side by side with the men and woman who keep the gears of the company in motion, serving customers and stores 24 hours [image-nocss] a day, seven day a week. "My task wasn't easy," DePinto said. "It was certainly eye-opening and definitely enlightening."
DePinto announced what he'd been up to the past week during a celebration rally at the 7-Eleven Store Support Center (SSC) in Dallas on October 14. There, he showed video clips documenting his experience and described working in 7-Eleven stores, making doughnuts at a bakery, placing orders at a Combined Distribution Center (CDC) and delivering fresh product overnight.
DePinto managed to go unrecognized as fellow employees helped him learn the ins and outs of their jobs. Disguised in glasses and a hat, he even grew a beard to conceal his identity, said the report.
The men and women who helped train "Danny" were on-hand for the event Wednesday and were recognized for their hard work and loyalty to 7-Eleven. The included Phil Shearin (7-Eleven Bakery in Baltimore), Igor Finkler (CDC in Lewisville, Texas), Lori DeFelice (7-Eleven franchisee, Southampton, N.Y.), Dolores Bisagni (7-Eleven employee, Store No. 19131, Shirley, N.J.) and Waqas Nabi (7-Eleven employee, Medford, N.Y.).
The week-long venture was videotaped for inclusion in a TV show, details of which will be revealed at a later date. What DePinto learned will translate into how the SSC and field teams can further support those working in stores who are the key to the company's success.
"The most important thing I learned...is how critical it is that we must take care of our stores and their employees who are taking care of our customers," DePinto said. "This is our mission, and all of us have an important role."
But this was not DePinto's first adventure. The U.S. Military Academy graduate and former U.S. Army field artillery officer for the Second Armored Division was recently selected as a spokesperson for the Army Officership Program.
One of DePinto's best friends from West Point is in Afghanistan, unaware that his old roommate has become a TV pitchman in the Army's new campaign to recruit 22,000 officer candidates over the next three years, said a recent report by The Dallas Morning News. "He'll rib me a little," DePintio said Colonel Fred Manzo.
The colonelalong with other friends in Iraq and Afghanistanis a big reason DePinto, 46, agreed to promote how "Army officership is a path to lifelong success."
DePinto considers himself a product of the Army. "It's where I learned many skills that I still use today as a CEO," he told the newspaper. "Teamwork, selfless servant leadership, a can-do attitude, a sense of mission and purpose all are transferable every day in the business world. It's why I'm so adamant that we recruit those leaving or retiring from the military to work at 7-Eleven."
DePinto earned a bachelor's degree in engineering management from West Point. The Chicago-area native served as an Army officer from 1986 to 1991. He was stationed at Fort Hood and spent time in Germany and at Fort Irwin, in California's Mojave Desert. He joined 7-Eleven in 2002 as a central U.S. division manager and in 2003 was promoted to vice president of operations. After leaving for a brief stint as president of GameStop Corp., he rejoined 7-Eleven in 2005.
As 7-Eleven's CEO, he has supported the armed forces in several ways, the report said. The chain recently announced it was offering franchises at reduced cost to honorably discharged veterans. (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage.)
In 2007, 7-Eleven stores sold a music CD called Support Our Troops, Support Their Sacrifice to raise money for the United Service Organizations (USO).
Stage Actors Guild union rules required that DePinto be paid for appearing in the Army commercial. He received about $1,000, which he donated to the USO, said the report.
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