Below is a collection of recent news regarding women in the convenience-store industry. EG America has hired several women in the past few months, the CEO of General Motors was recognized as a powerful leader and October is national women’s business month.
Read on for details.
EG Group Leadership Changes
EG Group has hired several women in the last few months.
In October, EG Group hired Mendy Meriwether as its new vice president of food, dispensed beverage and quick-service restaurants (QSRs). Meriwether was previously at Wawa for more than 20 years.
The chain also hired Diana Styles in October as chief human resources officer. Styles replaced Sandra Tierney, who recently retired. Styles, whose human resources career spans more than 27 years, most recently led commercial human resources for Adidas where she supported 57,000 employees across retail, wholesale, franchise and e-commerce.
In June, EG Group brought on Lisa N’Chonon as chief financial officer and treasurer. N’Chonon has been with the company for 17 years and served in the role on an interim basis for the last 11 months.
Laura Sherman was also named general counsel in June. Since joining the company in 2013, Sherman has held a series of progressively senior leadership positions within the legal department, most recently assistant general counsel and interim general counsel.
EG America appointed Whitney Johnson as vice president of loyalty and digital commerce. Johnson most recently founded Capstone Growth Advisors, a consulting firm focused on the consumer-packaged goods (CPG), e-commerce and retail sectors that specializes in tailored growth strategies and c-suite advising services.
- EG America is No. 5 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Powerful EV Leader
Mary Barra, CEO and chair of General Motors (GM) U.S., was No. 1 on the list of most powerful women in business by Fortune.
The 27th edition of the Fortune Most Powerful Women in business list recognizes 100 leaders, including women at Fortune Global 500 companies and some at emerging players in finance, tech, health care, telecom, retail, energy and other industries.
Among the 55 women currently leading Fortune 500 companies, Barra is one of only nine who have been CEO for a decade or more.
Last year, under Barra's leadership, the automaker notched its best performance in 17 years, with $171.8 billion in revenue and $10.1 billion in profit, according to Fortune. So far this year, its stock is up 35%. Barra also helped GM reach a resolution with the United Auto Workers to end a historic strike and remains committed to GM's goal of going all-electric.
"Since its inception, the Most Powerful Women in business list has served as a powerful reminder of the tremendous impact women leaders continue to have in shaping business today,” said Alyson Shontell, editor in chief and chief content officer at Fortune. “They are not just adapting to change; they are driving meaningful transformation."
The ranking, global in scope for the second year in a row, has 12 leaders from East Asia, eight each from France and the U.K., three each from Australia and Singapore and two each from Spain, Brazil and Germany.
The list, compiled by Fortune editors, was based on company size and health, their career path, influence beyond their organization and how they wield power, includes 65 women CEOs.
National Women’s Business Month
October marks National Women’s Business Month, recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
In 1972, there were a little over 400,000 women-owned businesses in the United States, according to SBA. Until 1988, women needed a male relative to co-sign if they wanted to apply for a business loan. That same year, the Women’s Business Ownership Act increased SBA’s access to capital to provide financial assistance to organizations geared toward women-owned small businesses.
By 2019, women-owned businesses represented 42% of all U.S. businesses and generated $1.9 trillion worth of revenue. Today, there are more than 13 million women-owned businesses and counting, according to SBA.
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