Winsight and CSP are pleased to honor Natalie Morhous, president of RaceTrac Inc., as our 2023 Retail Leader of the Year. Morhous is a third-generation leader in the family-owned business started in 1934. She began her career with RaceTrac in 2012 and, in company parlance, has been a TracFanatic since birth.
In Morhous’ 10 years with RaceTrac, she has served as director of strategy and development, executive director of strategy and solutions, and vice president of Energy Dispatch before assuming her role as president of the company in February of 2019.
Morhous also serves on the NACS Legislative Committee; is a board member of Our House, an organization dedicated to ending the cycle of homelessness for families; part of Leadership Georgia’s 2023 class; and a member of the Young President’s Organization.
Under her leadership, the company has expanded the RaceTrac brand into Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee with eyes on continued expansion into other additional states. The company also opened new store types, including a travel-center format and drive-thru locations, and welcomed franchisees into the RaceTrac family. All of this growth is just the beginning of RaceTrac’s goal to build a connected fuel network, serving convenience guests and professional drivers across its growing footprint.
“Our family is lucky to have Natalie’s strategic leadership, candid communication and passion for our business guiding RaceTrac into the future," said Melanie Isbill, RaceTrac’s chief marketing officer and Morhous' sister. "I believe that her commitment to carrying on our father’s and grandfather’s legacies as well as her drive to strongly impact our generation’s unique mark on what they started will make our organization even more successful for many years to come.”
“If you’re lucky, you get a chance to work with someone like Natalie maybe once in a career," said Robby Posener, chief development officer. "She is a lifelong learner who challenges those around her to be better every day. Natalie does not take the easy road. She chooses the path forward which will advance the lives of our guest and employees, even if doing so is uncomfortable in the moment.”
- RaceTrac Petroleum is No. 15 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by company-owned store count.
Based in Atlanta, RaceTrac owns and operates more than 770 retail fuel and convenience stores across 13 states under the RaceTrac and RaceWay brands. The RaceTrac family of companies also includes Energy Dispatch, the transportation company that hauls fuel for RaceTrac, and Metroplex Energy, the wholesale fuel supplier which secures bulk fuel to supply RaceTrac and RaceWay stores and other third-party companies.
“Most great leaders have a strength in either strategic direction or tactical execution," said AJ Siccardi, president of Metroplex Energy. "Natalie is the unique and extraordinary leader who excels in both with an unparalleled level of humility, drive, and desire to do the right thing regardless of her feelings or predispositions.”
Morhous' recognition comes 14 years after her father, Carl Bolch Jr., was honored as CSP's Retail Leader of the Year in 2009.
“We’re extremely excited to honor Natalie Morhous for her role in growing RaceTrac and in carrying on a family legacy,” said Steve Holtz, editor-in-chief of CSP. “Seeing leadership of a family-owned company pass from father to daughter without a dip in momentum, stability or ambition is an enviable sign of a company operating with a strong culture and oversight.
CSP will celebrate Morhous' leadership and achievements with family and friends at a formal dinner and award presentation during the NACS Show in Atlanta in October. Click here for more information.
CSP’sRetail Leader of the Year (RLOY) award has a 20-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 Ken Parent, Pilot Co.; Brian Hannasch, Alimentation Couche-Tard; 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.
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