CSP announced the winners of its 10th annual Category Manager of the Year awards on Tuesday during the Convenience Retailing University conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
This was the first time that two convenience-store category managers were awarded in each of the seven categories. Both a small-chain (chains with 99 stores or fewer) and large-chain (100 stores or more) winner was awarded in behind the counter, center store, dispensed beverages, foodservice, loyalty + tech/operations, nonalcohol beverages and alcohol.
“Category managers are the backbone of innovation and strategy in the convenience retail industry,” said Abbey Lewis, vice president of content strategy for CSP. “They have a deep understanding of consumer trends, product performance and operational success. This year’s winners exemplify excellence in their roles, driving growth and innovation for their companies. Congratulations to all our finalists and winners!”
Finalists in the seven categories were announced in January and the winners were determined through online voting. The finalists with the most votes from c-store suppliers won.
CSP’s 2025 Category Manager of the Year winners are:
Behind the Counter
Large chain
Matthew Stroupe, QuikTrip
Small chain
Chris Stevenson, OnCue
Center Store
Large chain
Thomas Rogers, Wawa
Small chain
Kathy Williams, Campbell Oil Co./ Minuteman Food Mart
Dispensed Beverages
Large chain
Shauna Seidenberg, EG America
Small chain
Josh Campbell, The Wills Group Inc./Dash In
Foodservice
Large chain
Kevin Dixon, Circle K
Small chain
Jamie Kennedy, Weigel's
Loyalty + Tech/Operations
Large chain
Jesse Schradle, Murphy USA
Small chain
Jessica Starnes, Weigel's
Nonalcohol Beverages
Large chain
Tim Schuster, Murphy USA
Small chain
Seth Carter, OnCue
Alcohol
Large chain
Jackie Pfeiffer, Circle K
Small chain
Nick Triantafellou, Weigel's
Frequently Asked Questions
How were the finalists determined?
Retailer, supplier and wholesale partners could submit their nominations for the industry’s best category managers through Dec. 13. Anyone could make a nomination. Separate nominations were made for a category manager from a chain with 99 or fewer stores and a chain with 100 or more stores. Store counts were determined by using CSP’s 2024 Top 202 list of largest c-store chains by U.S. store count.
After nominations closed, the six finalists in each category with the most votes, three finalists for smaller chains and three finalists for larger chains, moved on to the final round of voting. CSP editors vetted the finalists before moving on to the final round.
When were finalists announced?
Finalists were announced on Jan. 16 at CSPDailyNews.com.
How were the winners chosen?
Only convenience-store suppliers were allowed to vote amongst the finalists. The finalists in both chain-size brackets for each category with the most votes won. Voting was open through Jan. 31.
How can I nominate someone next year?
By November 2025, CSP will post a story and voting link for the c-store community to make their nominations for the 2026 Category Manager of the Year awards. The best way to stay up to date on this is to subscribe to CSP’s Daily News and Breaking News email alerts here: https://www.cspdailynews.com/subscribe-all-newsletters.
What if I have further questions?
Please reach out to CSP Senior Editor Hannah Hammond at hannah.hammond@informa.com or Abbey Lewis, vice president of content strategy for CSP, at abigail.lewis@informa.com.
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