Alimentation Couche-Tard has named Trey Powell senior vice president of U.S. food and retail, effective in May. In his new role, Powell will lead food, merchandising, marketing, private brand, supply chain strategy, sourcing and procurement.
- Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
He has been with the company since 2004, aside from a two-year stint with Kroger from 2013 to 2015. In 2004, Powell started as category manager of merchandise at Circle K and moved his way up through several roles to director of marketing and merchandising for the Midwest division. When he came back to Circle K in 2016, he held several merchandising roles and, for the past two and a half years, has been senior vice president of global merchandising.
There are no plans to fill this role, Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard said.
Powell helped open the first of three new distribution centers in the Midwest as part of a strategic effort to optimize the convenience-store chain’s merchandise supply chain. Located in Otsego, Minnesota; Lockbourne, Ohio; and Hazelwood, Missouri, the three distribution centers will supply approximately 1,600 Circle K and Holiday stores in 14 states with national- and private-brand packaged snacks, candy, beverages, tobacco/nicotine and other convenience items not normally supported via direct-store delivery.
Couche-Tard is shaking up leadership elsewhere, too
With its new Core + More strategy, introduced Feb. 11, Couche-Tard is aligning certain functions under dedicated regional leadership structures in the U.S., Canada and Europe, effective with the start of the new fiscal year in May, a Couche-Tard spokesperson told CSP.
“This reflects the different realities of the markets where we operate and allows us to make faster decisions closer to our customers, with resources focused on each geography, while we continue to leverage the full scale of our business,” the spokesperson said.
In Canada, Hélène Drolet has been named vice president of Canada food and retail, leading a team focused on the Canadian market, bringing together food, merchandising, marketing, procurement and private brand. Timing for her move has not yet been determined, Couche-Tard told CSP.
Gordon Lawlor is senior vice president of Europe merchandising, food and marketing, effective in May.
Mette Uglebjerg, senior vice president of global food and marketing at Circle K, is stepping down to become group CEO of Nordic beauty retailer Matas Group. Couche-Tard told CSP that there are no plans to fill this role either.
Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. owns the Circle K brand. Its network includes more than 7,100 stores in the United States, primarily under the Circle K banner, and approximately 2,100 in Canada under the Circle K and Couche-Tard banners.
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