LAS VEGAS — Amid the dazzling lights of Las Vegas, CSP awarded Ken Parent, senior advisor and past president, Pilot Co., its Retail Leader of the Year (RLOY) award for 2022. Guests and industry insiders gathered for cocktails and dinner at the Bellagio Hotel on Oct. 2 to celebrate Parent and Pilot.
Parent’s supportive yet competitive nature helped him rise quickly through Pilot’s ranks since joining the company in the mid-’90s.
Parent was instrumental in propelling Pilot to become the largest travel-center network in North America, growing to more than 750 locations in 44 states and Canada and employing more than 28,000 employees. Since last year, Parent has continued to bring his leadership and expertise to Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot and the industry while transitioning from president to special advisor.
Attendees celebrated Parent’s decades of leadership and service with a cocktail reception, dinner and award ceremony. The ceremony began with remarks from Jim Bursch, vice chairman of convenience media and events for Chicago-based Winsight, CSP’s parent company.
“No one deserves this more than Ken,” said Bursch, who said Parent questioned if he was worthy of recognition when he heard he would be honored with the award. Bursch shared many admirable qualities about Parent—his intelligence, ability to listen and competitiveness among them—but what he said he admired most about Parent was his loyalty.
“The first thing that comes to mind is—wow. It’s truly overwhelming.”
Most every Pilot employee has a word of wisdom from Parent ready to share, and Shameek Konar, CEO of Pilot, opened with a string of “Ken-isms” when he took the stage. “Take a deep breath. Sit down. This is going to be complicated,” he said to good-natured laughs from those who have heard these conversation prefaces.
Konar described Parent as a supportive mentor, not only to himself, but for many within the company. Konar talked about his irst days with Pilot, when he still wanted to be an academic and teach. Even so, Parent saw something in him and sponsored Konar as a potential candidate to lead the company. Parent did not stop when he put Konar’s name forward, either. He also took time to guide him to the role, Konar said.
“More than anything,” said Konar, “Ken cares about people.”
Guests also heard from Parent’s former chief of staff, Allison Cornish, now vice president of store modernization for Pilot, who echoed Konar’s praise of Parent’s ability to find the right place for the right people. “He could find and see opportunity in the potential of people,” said Cornish.
Cornish came prepared with “Kenisms” of her own, including “Wear Me Out University,” which Cornish identified as a reminder to step back and look at the big picture.
“Ken is the type of leader that creates followers,” said Cornish, as she described how fun Parent can be despite his usually stoic nature. “We couldn’t think of anyone more deserving.”
During the night, attendees watched a video featuring interviews with Pilot employees and Parent’s family. In it, colleagues praised Parent’s competitive yet supportive leadership style. They also shared plenty of “Ken-isms,” to the delight of the audience.
The crowd erupted in a standing ovation when Parent took to the stage to accept the award. “The first thing that comes to mind is—wow,” said Parent. “It’s truly overwhelming.”
Parent thanked the entire Pilot team, asking them to stand and be recognized by the cheering crowd. He also thanked Pilot’s partner suppliers and vendors, many of whom attended the event.
He also gave particular thanks to his wife, Leslie Parent. “Leslie and I have been married for 41 years,” said Parent, and in that time he had often been away from home and their children. “I can’t thank her enough for how she’s helped me, not only personally, but professionally in my career.”
Click here to read the complete 2022 Retail Leader of the Year report