CHICAGO — Winsight and CSP are pleased to honor a 32-year veteran of the convenience and fuel retailing industry as its 2021 Retail Leader of the Year: Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Hannasch joined BP Amoco in 1989, rising over time to vice president of marketing for the company’s U.S. Midwest Business Unit. In 2000, he moved to Indiana and joined fuel marketer/retailer Johnson Oil. As vice president of operations, Hannasch helped guide the company’s 225-unit Bigfoot Food Stores, the chain that in 2001 would become Canada-based Couche-Tard’s first acquisition on American soil.
Thirteen years later, Hannasch was tapped to fill the CEO role at Couche-Tard, filling the shoes of Founder Alain Bouchard, who now serves as executive chairman of the company and was named CSP’s Retail Leader of the Year in 2005.
Long since the second-largest c-store chain in the United States, aggressive acquirer Couche-Tard, Laval, Quebec, now operates more than 7,200 convenience stores in the U.S., as well as a global retail empire that includes stores in Canada, Hong Kong, Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics, Russia and more for a total network of nearly 15,000 units.
“Brian Hannasch was at ground zero of Couche-Tard entering the United States. The fact he has gone on to lead the company to even greater heights is a sign of the insightfulness of Alain Bouchard and the other company founders who recognized the right person to guide the retailer into the next generation,” said Steve Holtz, content director for Winsight’s convenience group. “Couche-Tard stands as one of the strongest companies in the c-store industry, one that is ready to grow well beyond its current position. We look forward to watching what Hannasch and his team do next.”
CSP’s Retail Leader of the Year award has an 18-year legacy for recognizing convenience-retailing executives for their excellence in leadership, innovation and perseverance within his or her company, positively transforming the organization to new and higher levels. Past honorees include Chet Cadieux, QuikTrip; Kyle Krause, Kum & Go; Ari Haseotes, Cumberland Farms; Bob Myers of Casey’s General Stores; Tony Kenney, Speedway; Sam L. Susser, Susser Petroleum Partners; John MacDougall, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes; Don Zietlow, Kwik Trip; and Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven Inc., among others.
On Oct. 5, CSP, Hannasch family and friends, and Couche-Tard team members celebrated his leadership and achievements at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.
Watch for complete coverage of CSP’s Retail Leader of the Year award ceremony on CSP Daily News and in CSP magazine.