
CSP is proud to announce the finalists in its 2025 Category Manager of the Year (CMOY) Awards, nominated by the convenience-store community. These are the best of the best from small, midsize and large chains across the United States. Finalists represent a wide range of c-store chains from Pilot Co. to Circle K and Dash-In to Weigel’s.
And, for the first year, finalists in each category are broken into two segments—large chains (100 stores or more) and small chains (99 stores or fewer). The seven categories are behind the counter, center store, dispensed beverages, foodservice, loyalty + tech/operations, nonalcohol and alcohol.
Between now and Jan. 31, CSP is asking supplier partners to cast their votes to recognize the c-store industry’s finest category managers. The category managers who receive the most votes in each chain-size bracket will be the winners. Winners will be announced during the 2025 Convenience Retailing University conference, to be held Feb. 24-26 in Nashville. The 14 winners will be featured in a special section of CSP magazine’s April issue.
To vote for the winner, click here. Only c-store suppliers, not retailers, may cast a vote. See the "Frequently Asked Questions" section below the finalists for more information on the nomination and voting process.
- See our 2024 Category Manager of the Year winners here.
The 2025 finalists for Category Manager of the Year are:
Behind the Counter
Large chain
Eddie Long, Pilot Co.
Kraig Knudsen, Circle K
Matthew Stroupe, QuikTrip
Small chain
Anna Bettencourt, Yatco
Chris Stevenson, OnCue
Michael Murphy, Atlantis Management Group
Center Store
Large chain
Gary Evans, OXXO USA
Thomas Rogers, Wawa
MJ Simons, OXXO USA
Small chain
Corey Stump, Childers Oil Co./Double Kwik
Kathy Williams, Campbell Oil Co./ Minuteman Food Mart
Shawn Holmes , R.L. Jordan Oil Co./Hot Spot
Dispensed Beverages
Large chain
Furnell Mackey, Majors Management/MAPCO Express
Shauna Seidenberg, EG America
Yarelis Benitez, Murphy USA
Small chain
Joe Brumfield, La Lomita
Josh Campbell, The Wills Group Inc./Dash In
Matthew Rogers, OnCue
Foodservice
Large chain
Kate Weisman, EG America
Kevin Dixon, Circle K
Joseph “Tony” DeSerto, RaceTrac
Small chain
Sherryn Diamond, High's of Baltimore
Jeff Hagans, The Spinx Co.
Jamie Kennedy, Weigel's
Loyalty + Tech/Operations
Large chain
Marc Miles, bp/TravelCenters of America
Joey Low, CITGO Petroleum
Jesse Schradle, Murphy USA
Small chain
Abigail Cerra, Chestnut Market
Jessica Starnes, Weigel's
Benjamin Hoffmeyer, TXB Stores
Nonalcohol Beverages
Large chain
Tim Schuster, Murphy USA
Terry Messmer, Tri Star Energy
Mary Valenza, Gate Petroleum
Small chain
Armin Hadziomerovic, Houchens Food Group
Scott Estrella, Atlantis Management Group
Seth Carter, OnCue
Alcohol
Large chain
Mark Buonomo, Global Partners LP/Alltown Fresh
Kelsey Capellino, United Pacific
Jackie Pfeiffer, Circle K
Small chain
Adam Long, Rutter’s
Farris Jamal, Chestnut Market
Nick Triantafellou, Weigel's
- Convenience-store suppliers: Click here to vote for the winner.
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.
How can I nominate someone next year?
In November, 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.
Who can vote for the winners?
Only supplier partners may cast votes for the final round—not retailers. There will be two winners for each category, determined by who receives the most votes for retailers with 99 stores or fewer and retailers with 100 or more stores. CSP editors will review the votes to make sure the winners are in the appropriate category and store-count range.
Please only vote for one finalist in each section.
When and how can I vote for the winners?
Voting is open through Jan. 31. To vote for the winner, click here.
When will I find out if I’ve won?
Winners will be announced and recognized at Convenience Retailing University (CRU), which will be held Feb. 24-26 in Nashville.
How do I attend Convenience Retailing University (CRU)?
Visit this page for more information: https://informaconnect.com/convenience-retailing-university/.
If I am a 2025 CMOY finalist, do I need to do anything?
You should have already received an email from a CSP staff member if you are one of the 2025 CMOY finalists listed above. If you did not receive an email, please contact CSP Senior Editor Hannah Hammond at hannah.hammond@informa.com.
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