DES MOINES, Iowa -- Joe Petrowski, former CEO of Cumberland Farms and Gulf Oil, has joined Yesway, Brookwood Financial Partners LLC’s new convenience-store brand, as a senior adviser and member of its executive committee.
“I have believed for a long while that the impetus for consolidation in the convenience and fuel retailing business creates major opportunities to generate great value in buying excellent assets, improving operations, developing economies of scale advantages and growing to a significant size chain,” said Petrowski. “In Brookwood, I found the individuals who saw the industry as I did, who had a keen understanding of the drivers of value creation and who were willing to commit capital to realizing that goal.”
As reported in a McLane/CSP Daily News Flash, Petrowski will work with Brian Trout and Mark Daniels, Yesway’s senior operations executives, to help manage the firm’s growth, improve operations and implement the firm’s business plan. He will report directly to Thomas Nicholas Trkla, the firm’s chairman and CEO.
“Joe is a true legend in the convenience and fuel retailing space, and I am honored to have him join the Yesway team,” Trkla said. “His proven track record, decades of experience and industry connections will be invaluable to me and the rest of the senior management team as we execute our strategy to build a portfolio of up to 1,000 c-stores in the next several years.”
From 2005 through 2013, Petrowski led the Framingham, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms Gulf Oil, a diversified petroleum and retail convenience-store holding company located in 29 states with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues. During Petrowski’s tenure, the company achieved record earnings, and in 2012, he was named as one of the nation’s top private-company CEOs by ExecRank.
After leaving Cumberland Farms, Petrowski founded Mercantor Partners, a private-equity group focused on downstream energy distribution and retail convenience.
Petrowski “has been a driving force behind the evolution of the c-store and fuel retail space for over a decade, and we will all benefit from his experience and wisdom,” said Trout.
Brookwood has hired many veterans of several major convenience-store chains to complete its management team, including executives from Kum & Go, Delek U.S., Southwest Convenience Stores, 7-Eleven, BP and The Pantry.
BW Gas & Convenience, doing business as Yesway, is based in Des Moines, Iowa. After acquiring 10 Country Store and 21 Kum & Go locations, the chain owns 31 c-stores. It is a unit of private-equity firm Brookwood Financial Partners LLC, Beverly, Mass.
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