Bob Espey is stepping down as president and CEO of Parkland. This comes less than two weeks after the fuel marketer and convenience retailer’s largest shareholder, Simpson Oil Ltd., asked Parkland’s board of directors to replace Espey.
The Calgary, Alberta-based company has had a tumultuous year, facing criticism from shareholders who called for a strategic review of the company, deciding to sell its struggling Florida retail business and making several leadership changes.
“Serving as Parkland’s CEO has been the opportunity of a lifetime. I want to thank the entire Parkland team—past and present—for their incredible dedication and drive. I am proud of what we have built together,” Espey said. “Over the past few months, it became clear that stepping down and announcing my departure may help bring resolution to the situation with Simpson Oil Ltd. and benefit all shareholders. I remain deeply committed to Parkland and will support a smooth transition to new leadership. I look forward to working closely with Michael in his new role as executive chair.”
Parkland Corp. is No. 38 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
Michael Jennings, who was previously chair of the board, is now executive chair.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Bob for his vision and leadership over the last 15 years as president and CEO,” Jennings said. “Bob has led Parkland through a period of exponential growth, transforming the company from a small regional fuel retailer into one of Canada’s leading fuel and convenience retailers with international operations in twenty-six countries. We thank him for his unwavering commitment and dedication.”
The board of directors has formed a CEO search committee comprised of independent directors to oversee an extensive executive search process to replace Espey.
Espey will stay on until the appointment of a new CEO, the completion of the strategic review or Dec. 31, whichever occurs first, Parkland said. Espey has led Parkland for 14 years.
On April 7, Simpson Oil Ltd. sent a letter to fellow shareholders nominating nine people to Parkland's board of directors ahead of the company's annual general meeting of shareholders on May 6. It also listed priorities for a newly appointment board, which included beginning the process of recruiting a new CEO to replace Espey.
Simpson Oil holds 19.8% of Parkland’s outstanding common shares, and it has been Parkland’s largest shareholder since 2019.
The elements of Parkland that attracted Simson Oil in 2019 have been “mismanaged out of existence,” the company said in its letter. Parkland is plagued by financial underperformance, significant management churn, a strategy that ignores the company’s competitive advantages, a misguided capital allocation plan, excessive overhead costs and a lack of accountability, Simpson Oil said.
Parkland is an international fuel distributor, marketer and convenience retailer with operations in 26 countries across the Americas. It has more than 4,000 retail and commercial locations across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean region. This includes about 210 company-operated c-stores in the United States, under brands including On the Run.
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