OAKBROOK TERRRACE, Ill. -- CSP Business Media is pleased to announce Sam L. Susser, chairman of Susser Petroleum Partners, is its 2014 Retailer Leader of the Year. Susser will be honored Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014, at an invitation-only dinner and toast at the Wynn Las Vegas during the NACS Show.
Now in its 12th year, CSP’s Retail Leader of the Year dinner and toast honors a convenience-retailing executive for leadership excellence, innovation within the chain and perseverance within his or her company, positively transforming the organization to new and higher levels. Past honorees have included John MacDougall, president & CEO of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes; Don Zietlow, CEO of Kwik Trip; Joe DePinto, president & CEO of 7-Eleven Inc.; and Dean Durling, CEO of QuickChek Food Stores.
“This is a special opportunity for CSP to honor a retailer who has truly taken the industry to a new level,” said Mitch Morrison, vice president and group editor for CSP Business Media. “In addition to embracing a large-format, foodservice-driven concept early on, Sam was instrumental in introducing new financial instruments to the channel, specifically the master limited partnership, or MLP, which helped retailers gain access to capital and accelerate industry consolidation to the frenetic pace we’ve been seeing this year.”
Sam joined the family’s Corpus Christi fuel business in 1988 when the Texas economy was suffering. Working with a dedicated team and insightful board members and strategic advisers, the Susser team forged a Fortune 500 company by successfully integrating 14 separate c-store acquisitions, including 26 7-Eleven stores in 1988; 105 Circle K stores in 1995; and a doubling of the chain via a deal with Town & Country, leading up to the company’s tie this year to the massive Sunoco network under Energy Transfer Partners. The honor comes in a year that has seen three major acquisitions within the channel, all influenced by the financial path and structure Susser helped pioneer.
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based CSP Business Media, publisher of CSP, Convenience Store Products, FoodService Director and Restaurant Business magazines, is a market-dominant, business-to-business, multimedia communication company specializing in the convenience retailing, restaurant and on-the-go food industries. In addition to its print products, CSP Business Media has an extensive portfolio of online products including e-newsletters, websites, Web conferences, CSPTV and other video products, mobile applications and custom solutions. And CSP Leadership Conferences & Events produces more than 20 major EduNetworking live conferences and focused meetings.
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