The vision, direction and future achievements of a company rest on its emerging leaders, those whose voices galvanize, whose energy ignites action. As c-store titans of the baby-boomer set witness the growing savvy of those they’ve nurtured, these up-and-comers are grabbing the baton, running full bore into the uncertainty of fuel formulation, foodservice strategy and a new age of social technology.
“There isn’t a single area in this business [where] you can … assume cruise control,” says Allison Moran, RaceTrac Petroleum’s new CEO. She credits her father, Carl Bolch Jr., the iconic leader of the 622-store Atlanta-based chain, for helping her see the value of taking risks, making failure a friend and “constantly [striving] for improvement in everything I do.”
This new brood will “bring a renewed sense of energy,” says Steve Montgomery, president of c-store consultancy b2b Solutions, Lake Forest, Ill. “It’s very hard to maintain the high pace that this business requires. It’s not a job; it’s a way of life.”
Some of these ladder-climbing leaders talked with CSP about the future and the trail they hope to blaze in the c-store industry for decades to come.
The traits they share are many:
- Passion: They value teamwork and collaboration while developing new strategies against the threats facing the channel.
- Technology: With many having lived through the transition from land lines and PCs to smartphones and tablets, those interviewed are focusing on technology and its potential fit in the industry.
- Work Ethic: While technology is a driver, new leaders endorse traditional working values, never taking for granted what others did before them and what brought them success.
- Balance: From dance to horseback riding, cycling to running marathons, emerging leaders embrace the need to achieve on a personal level, prioritizing family and blurring the line between home and work—a hallmark of the social-media generation.
For many of these leaders, convenience retailing is in their blood; they inherited their passion from a multi-generation tradition that sometimes dates back to their great-grandparents. Others step into the c-store life with their own degrees and histories in retail, confident in the potential of an ever-changing channel.
Either way, they balance the excitement of a technology age with the weight of leadership and the double-edged sword of what could be.
John Strickland Jr., president of
Goldsboro, N.C.-based Wayne Oil Co. and a third-generation operator, sees the best chains reinventing the channel, taking the best from the gas-and-smokes stereotype to build new expectations and show customers the c-store’s true value.
“The bar for success in this industry is set really low,” says Strickland, who runs a 14-store chain under the name Ballpark Stores. “Which is why there’s a new interest in focusing on customer service and things we’ve traditionally not focused on.”
It’s a metamorphosis, he says, that starts from within.
“We have internal customers as well,” he says. “I’m always trying to figure out … how I can serve them better—teach, train and try to develop that vision—and how they can start thinking differently about what they do.”
After the Baby Boom
With the baby boomers now making retirement plans, the convenience channel, perhaps more than most retail sectors, is stepping onto the runway of change. Already, a wave of 20- and 30-somethings are catapulting to the role of category directors, and those but a few years older into the c-suite of CEOs, COOs, CIOs and CMOs.
And unlike their forefathers, this generation is decidedly more gender-neutral and embraces a capitalism that is far more complex, if not more competitive.
“Those retiring or transitioning to
their sons or daughters go back to a time when the industry was far simpler,” says Montgomery of b2b. “We’ve seen manual cash registers move to electronic and then to scanning. We’ve seen marketing go from gut to analytics. We’ve seen a well-equipped facility go from a 1,500-square-foot store with two dispensers to 6,000 square feet and 16 fueling positions.”
The new generation’s advantage is that today’s standards are all they’ve ever known, Montgomery says, emphasizing that in years past, the industry had been quick to jump on fads but slow to change its fundamental business. Today, the fundamentals are in constant flux, going from “center store to wall, replenishment to refreshment, from goods to services.”
And don’t think that family ties automatically lock sons, daughters, nieces or nephews into leadership positions. In fact, the last name Sheetz does not even guarantee an individual any position with the Altoona, Pa., retailer.
“Our family does not create positions for family members,” says Travis Sheetz, executive vice president of operations for Sheetz’s 432 retail locations, and the son of Joseph M. Sheetz. “It’s really a matter of opportunity and timing.”
Because convenience retail as a business is so hands-on, succession is a matter of personal pride and integrity. “If you’re going to turn over the business to one of your children—or to anyone, for that matter—you really want to make sure they’re ready and prepared to ensure its continued existence, hopefully a prosperous one,” Montgomery says. “No one
wants to say they turned the business over to their son and he ruined it. You spent your life building it. It’s your legacy.”
Growing up, many of the first-, second- and even third-generation leaders were advised to explore the world and develop outside careers before deciding to join the family business. “My dad told me it will take 20 years before I could provide value to the company,” says Strickland of Wayne Oil. “I was shocked. I was 22 years old and didn’t grasp the concept.”
Strickland took his dad’s advice and delved into other professions, including working for a congressman in Washington, D.C., and a stint with Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark., before returning to the family business. Now, after 20 years at Wayne, his eyes are open. “It takes a long time to become a leader and to start adding value in excess of what you’re being paid,” he says.
Assuming the helm of any business, Montgomery says, means carrying the burden of the chain’s employees and their economic survival. If that weren’t enough, new initiatives and innovation require energy, confidence and determination, which require time and commitment.
For instance, any marketing project involving mobile apps may not interest someone about to retire. “But these young adults, they grew up with cellphones,” he says. “You’re going to see those kinds of things emerging [because] the new leadership will explore it and ask if we can get a payback.”
Pinpointing Opportunity
Getting a firm handle on technology may indeed be a necessity as emerging leaders face a difficult business landscape. Moran of RaceTrac cites just some of the significant day-to-day challenges: increasing competition, a more stringent regulatory and legislative environment, fuel supply and changes in consumption, and the never-ending evolution of what consumers need and want.
Tapping technology is a logical, if not necessary, first step, says Ashley Englefield, marketing manager of Englefield Oil, a 125-store chain based in Heath, Ohio. Her company has adopted a customer loyalty program, an interactive Facebook page and a recently launched mobile app.
“It is important for us to stay on top of the latest trends, but we must also be smart in deciding how to best serve our customers with this type of marketing,” Englefield says. “There is a fine line between being OK at everything and being the best at a few things.”
Englefield, among others interviewed, sees foodservice as a natural growth category. “It will be a challenge to compete with [quick-service restaurants],” she says. “But we have an advantage in that we are a one-stop shop with an overwhelming variety of products for our customers.”
Foodservice matters because of the need to diversify gross profits, says Quinn Ricker, son of industry vets Jay and Nancy Ricker, and the new president and CEO of the 50-store Ricker’s chain, based in Anderson, Ind. He believes fine-tuning the supply chain will be a key differentiator in the future, especially in developing internal capacities, joint ventures or partnerships to boost efficiency and create competitive advantages.
A third concern and potential opportunity new leaders cite is the form and formula of fuels going forward.
“Fuel and cigarettes are probably in irreversible decline,” says Adam Sheetz, director of operations for Sheetz in North Carolina, of the biggest challenges facing the c-store industry. “How can the industry remain profitable? That will represent tremendous change.”
Maintaining a profitable fuel business in the future will most likely mean embracing alternative fuels. Englefield called this prospect “inevitable,” pointing out that her chain is installing E85 pumps and may offer compressed natural gas (CNG) in the near future.
Though consumers will certainly dictate the demand for E85 and other fuel alternatives, new leaders have the opportunity to influence such decisions. Such is the belief of Trey Powell, director of marketing for Alimentation Couche-Tard, Laval, Quebec, which has more than 6,000 locations.
“The demand for convenience has never been stronger, and we have the infrastructure to meet those demands,” he says. “But as retailers, we’ve got to do our part to shape the evolution and delivery of the energy choices future on-the-go consumers will undoubtedly rely on.”
Looking Up
Not surprisingly, many of those interviewed see their parents as key role models who demonstrate the value of hard work and building a reputation for integrity and personal responsibility.
Ryan Sheetz, director of Sheetz Distribution Services, says his father, Louie Sheetz, is his role model in action and deed: “To see the hard work and sacrifices that he has made over the years for my family and the business is truly admirable.”
Ryan’s cousin, Adam, echoes such sentiments, citing his father, Stan Sheetz, as both his role model and a born leader. “He’s taken this company to a completely different level, as did Steve before him, as did Bob,” Adam says. “They all represent huge footsteps we only hope to emulate.”
And it’s not just those working in a family business such as Sheetz who look to the lessons of their fathers. Cory Schuh, business development manager for Barnhart, Mo.-based Home Service Oil, with 10 c-stores under the Express Mart banner, says his father “has always really stressed to me the value of a person’s word … because as soon as people start to perceive a lack in value … that’s a bad road to head down.”
In this business, female role models may be few and far between, but Lisa Dell’Alba, president and CEO of the nine-store Square One Markets Inc., Bethlehem, Pa., found one in a dance instructor named Barbara Piotrowski. While also naming her father, Gary Dell’Alba, as a mentor and role model, Lisa Dell’Alba describes Piotrowski as “very confident, with a perspective to a female side of leadership. She was very nurturing but knew how to create struc
ture and guidelines. She commanded respect but played a balanced role.”
Other retailers take a big-picture approach, naming admired business leaders as role models. For Powell, several executives come to mind, including Scott McNealy (Sun Microsystem’s founder and CEO) and NFL coach Tony Dungy. “I consider myself a student of leadership principles—business or otherwise—and it’s really the collection of those values that have shaped my belief system,” he says.
Personal Achievement
And just as parents and other business leaders inspire those now moving into higher positions at their chains, personal achievements have led to new levels of confidence and insight. Among these new leaders are marathoners, cyclists and show-horse riders. They’ve started families, earned degrees and traveled the world.
Between his time at Wayne Oil and working for a congressman, Strickland has enjoyed his share of achievements. Yet he lists a post-college bike ride as one of his proudest moments. It wasn’t just any ride: He joined a team of 20 cyclists who covered the 4,000 miles from San Francisco to Charleston, S.C., in just 62 days, raising a quarter of a million dollars for charity. He calls the 1991 journey “my one good deed in life.”
These new leaders draw strength and direction from experiences both on the job and when the workday ends. Dell’Alba, for example, feels her dance background fueled the “performance” side of her business. She sees the show floor of the store as the “stage” where customers experience friendly, welcoming service. It’s a matter of employee training and motivation that she feels is critical in competing with top-notch c-store chains in her state.
For Andrea Myers, president of the 38-store, Seymour, Ind.-based Kocolene Marketing, dba Fast Max and Smoker’s Host, riding competitive show horses teaches her about determination and the drive necessary to win titles. “I show jumping horses all over the country,” she says. “There is a definite similarity between [that] and my job: There are going to be hurdles.”
Of course, cross-country bike rides and national competitions are not the only ways this group is contributing to the world around them. For some, their greatest achievements begin and end in the home.
Eric Rush may have risen through the ranks at Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Quick Chek, but he is first and foremost a father of four.
“My children, along with my wife, are the reason I push myself the way I do,” says Rush, senior data center administrator of the 129-store chain. “I want them to be able to be proud of me and I want to be their role model.”
Futurama
These new c-store leaders present a formidable wave of talent, experience and vision that will certainly prove critical for an industry in continual flux. They see their roles expanding but, at the same time, staying the same.
Myers of Kocolene sums up the sentiment, saying she thinks she’ll probably be “doing the same things, but doing it better.”
Other leaders agree. “I don’t think it’ll be whole lot of difference five years down the road,” Strickland says. “Operations, marketing, supply have their vantage points, but my job is helping to figure out how the pieces of our company integrate to service the consumer better and drive value in what we do.”
He believes customer interaction will be the critical element, influencing the shape and form of convenience retail in the future. “Until someone figures out how to download a tank of gas, we’re still a brick-and-mortar business,” he says. As dashboard technology advances, he says, cars will automatically interact with pumps to identify drivers, run transactions and even order hot dogs. “It’s how the store interacts with the car or truck or vehicle is what’s going to change dramatically.”
Envisioning not only what lies ahead but also what lies beyond may seem like the job of prophets, but these new c-store leaders are grounded, humble individuals. Ryan Sheetz admits he certainly hopes to rise within the ranks of the family business. For now, though, “All I am focused on is the position that I am in today. If I can work hard and bust my butt in order to add great value today, something good will happen tomorrow.”
Myers of Kocolene says, “I don’t ever want to be naïve enough to think that just because my last name is Myers that [being CEO] is where I should be.”
There’s no doubt that they’re a diverse bunch. However, it’s the traits they share that ultimately reveal where the industry is headed. They’re passionate about their lives and their work. They embrace new technologies. They hold themselves up to the ethics instilled by their predecessors. And they judge themselves not just by what they do in the office, but what they do in life.
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