Marketing executive Abigail Cerra is moving on from a successful tenure at a leading convenience-store company to bring her loyalty experience to another retailer. Effective April 1, Cerra—who currently serves as senior manager of innovation and brand marketing at Charleston, South Carolina-based Refuel Operating Co. LLC—will take up the mantle of loyalty marketing manager at Chestnut Market, the c-store brand of CPD Energy Corp., New Paltz, New York.
- Refuel is No. 40 and CPD Energy/Chestnut Market is No. 95 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by total number of company-owned retail outlets.
“Chestnut Market does not have a marketing program or a loyalty program today, and I have an opportunity to establish a best-in-class program, and that was the exact same opportunity I had when I came to Refuel, so it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—again,” Cerra told CSP.
“I’m definitely very proud of the accomplishments at Refuel, where we built a very successful program,” she said. “A lot of vendors have told us that we have the best app they’ve seen across the country for smaller-sized retailers.
“Refuel is a wonderful company. I’m very confident in the continued success after my departure of the marketing team I built while I was there. The team is the reason for that success.”
Cerra is also a founding board member of CSP’s C-Store Women (CSW) Event. “It’s a pivotal organization, and I’m honored to be a part of the work they are doing to bridge the gap of female executives in our industry. The CPD team is very supportive of my continued involvement with CSW,” Cerra said.
Owned by the Jamal family, CPD Energy operates more than 70 Chestnut Market convenience stores outside of New York City. Each store carries a selection of fresh grab-and-go food items such as sandwiches, yogurts and fruit cups.
Growth Journey
“We’re on an exciting growth journey, opening new and bigger stores that meet our customers’ growing needs,” said Faheem Jamal, director of c-store operations at Chestnut Market. “An essential part of our strategy is to create a great digital rewards experience for our guests.”
“Abigail’s youth belies her vast and impressive experience,” Faheem added. “She’s cultivated from the ground up winning loyalty programs for several respected retail chains, including most recently Refuel. We’re thrilled to have Abigail join our growing team.”
Faheem’s brother, Farris, who is merchandise manager, called Cerra a perfect fit.
“Our Chestnut Market stores reflect the next generation of our business,” Farris said, referring to the Jamal family’s more than 40 years in retail and fuel in New York State. “We just recently opened our biggest and most exciting store on New York’s Hutchinson River Parkway. We know the future is all about engaging customers wherever they are. And we can’t think of a better person to help us navigate that next generation of customer engagement than Abigail.”
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.