WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — With the closing of its acquisition of Cumberland Farms and the relocation of its headquarters to Massachusetts, EG America has established a new leadership team to take the chain into the future, CSP Daily News has learned. The company, the U.S. unit of U.K.-based EG Group Ltd., has named George Fournier, vice president of supply chain for Cumberland Farms, as its new president. He succeeds Jay Erickson.
Blackburn, U.K.-based EG Group acquired the Cumberland Farms c-store chain in October 2019 and announced that it would relocate from the U.S. headquarters it inherited when it acquired Kroger’s c-stores in early 2018 and move to Westborough, Mass., the home of Cumberland Farms.
Fournier began his career with Cumberland Farms more than 25 years ago and has held a variety of roles in operations and marketing. “George is a strong steward of the culture and has demonstrated his passion for colleague engagement and development through several company initiatives,” the company said.
The new leadership team at EG America includes:
- Caroline Taitelbaum, vice president of accounting operations for Cumberland Farms, joined EG America as vice president and CFO (U.S.) in late 2019.
- Sorin Hilgen, chief technology officer for Cumberland Farms, joined EG America as vice president and chief information officer (U.S.) in late 2019. Previously, he was CIO of Gulf Oil. “Sorin has been a key part of the IT leadership team for many years and played a key role in Cumberland Farm’s technology evolution,” the company said.
- Jon Arnold, vice president of category management for Cumberland Farms, has joined EG America as vice president and head of marketing. He was with Cumberland Farms for more than nine years. “Jon has played a critical role in building strategic partnerships with vendor partners to enable best-in-class merchandising programs,” the company said.
- Dave Masuret, vice president of supply and distribution for Cumberland Farms, has joined EG America as senior vice president of petroleum supply and operations. He was with Cumberland Farms and Cumberland Gulf for more than 33 years.
- Tom Cacciola, vice president of real estate, construction, facilities services and environmental for Cumberland Farms, has joined EG America as vice president of real estate, construction, facilities services and environmental. He was with Cumberland Farms for more than 29 years.
- Cindy Rantanen, vice president of brand partnerships and public relations for EG America, joined EG Group in early 2018. Previously, she was vice president of operations and merchandising for the c-store and small-format division of Kroger.
- Keith Boston, vice president of prepared foods for Cumberland Farms, has joined EG America as vice president of foodservice. He was with Cumberland Farms for more than 10 years. Previously, he was director of culinary development for Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. Boston “will collaborate to expand the Cumberland Farms brand and specialty food items across the EG America chain while simultaneously testing and adding EG food products from the U.K. to the U.S. stores,” the company said.
- Steve Fuller, real estate manager and regional operations manager for Turkey Hill, joined EG America vice president of real estate development and acquisition in early 2019. “Steve will help the company continue to expand across the country with significant land purchases and acquisitions,” the company said.
- Nick Unkovic, interim vice president of human resources and general counsel for EG America, joined EG America as general counsel (U.S.) in late 2018. Previously, he held a variety of in-house legal roles for several major U.S. companies. “Nick has played a key leadership role as part of the EG America team and will bring critical historic knowledge and experience to the new leadership team,” the company said.
- Jamie Hill, guest and team member experience director for Cumberland Farms, joined EG America in 2019 as vice president of integration.
- Nick Hurd, director of store support and project manager for mergers and acquisitions for EG Group, has been named director of food brand partnerships. He joined the company from Kroger in 2018.
- David Heilbronner, director of brand strategy and advertising for Cumberland Farms, will now oversee all banners for EG America. He joined Cumberland Farms in 2013.
- Kathy-Jo (KJ) Payette, senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Cumberland Farms, has joined EG America. "KJ has over 25 years of experience in HR and retail and will play a leadership role in integrating all of the EG banners and team members onto the Cumberland Farms HR systems," the company said.
Erickson is now vice president of information technology and chief information officer for Parkland Fuel Corp., Calgary, Alberta. Before becoming president of EG America in September 2018, he was president of Kroger’s Tom Thumb and Turkey Hill c-stores and vice president of merchandising and marketing for Kroger’s Loaf ‘N Jug c-stores, among other positions with the Cincinnati-based company.
Several other executives are no longer with EG America:
- Holly Veale, vice president of merchandising for EG Group, has left the company and is now director of merchandising for Accent Food Services, Mason, Ohio.
- Gwen Forman, senior vice president of marketing for Cumberland Farms, has left the company.
- David Merriam, senior vice president of store operations and vice president of retail operations for Cumberland Farms, retired in 2018.
- Tony Harris, senior vice president of Cumberland Farms, who replaced Merriam, has left the company. Previously, he was president of Thorntons Inc.
Founded as EuroGarages in 2001 by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, EG Group has approximately 5,200 sites in Europe, the United States and Australia.
- EG Group’s Mohsin and Zuber Issa are amongCSP’s2019 Power 20 deal makers. And click here for CSP magazine’s September 2019 exclusive look at EG Group and its U.S. strategy.
In 2018, with the acquisition of Kroger’s 762 c-stores, EG Group instantly became a top player in U.S. convenience retailing. Also in 2018, it acquired 225 Minit Mart c-stores from TravelCenters of America LLC, Westlake, Ohio.
EG Group is No. 8 on CSP’s2019 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of retail outlets. Cumberland Farms was No. 15.
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