Scott Hartman’s leadership spans outside Rutter’s, too, and into the wider industry.
As the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) chairman in 2006, Rutter’s president and CEO had many accomplishments that paved the way for the industry. Hartman also served as a NACS executive committee member for more than 10 years.
He was one of the pioneers in making Asia part of the NACS organization, said Craig Panter, CEO of Cullinan Group. Hartman was engaged in how technology was impacting the convenience industry, and the innovations there, especially in the payment and inventory management spaces, were advanced, Panter said.
- Scott Hartman is CSP's 2025 Retail Leader of the Year. Read more here.
“[Scott] had a lot of foresight and learnings from those Asia engagements and brought them to his businesses in Pennsylvania,” said Panter.
During Hartman’s 2006 NACS Chairman induction speech, he said, “Clearly, technology will play an ever-increasing role at our stores... Cell phones are customers’ electronic wallet, a personal scanner, a personal navigation system and locator… Customers will receive offers on their phones, redeem electronic coupons with their phones, and web applications will allow them to find the lowest priced products between them and their next destination… The cell phone will soon be our cars’ internet connection device.”
Hartman said retailers will market gas prices to customers as they drive down the highway, and customers will have their cars programmed to seek out food offers they prefer.
Learning from other leaders
Hartman talked about his time as NACS chairman with fondness and said it’s his greatest professional achievement.
It was one of the ways he learned so much.
- Rutter’s is No. 79 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
“I was able to get involved with NACS and sit at the table with some of the very best CEOs at the time in the industry and listen to them engage and talk about industry issues and how they would solve it… and learning from people like that how they build their business and how they could deal with the challenges,” he said.
One of those mentors was Carl Bolch Jr., former CEO of Atlanta-based RaceTrac, a family business now run by Bolch’s daughter Natalie Morhous.
“[With a family business,] I tried to learn from people who can keep it going because the easiest thing you can do is sell, and I don't want to do that,” Hartman said.
A fountain of knowledge
When Hartman was the chairman of NACS, he had the ability to bring people together and build consensus and focus. He has the capability of bringing strong leaders on a journey, said Frank Gleeson, who will succeed Henry Armour as president and CEO of NACS in January.
When Gleeson was the chairman of NACS in 2018, Hartman was a resource for him, he said.
“I was able to lean into Scott and get advice,” Gleeson said. “He's the fountain of all knowledge, and he's been around. I've always enjoyed his company, hospitality, but more importantly, his advice and his knowledge of the business. He runs some amazing world-class stores up in his home in the U.S. And more importantly, he's always wanting to learn more and see what's going on so that his business can be the best it can be.”
Hartman described his role as the NACS chairman as eye-opening. With the chance to travel the world, he built a network and still has friends and colleagues in many countries, he said.
“A lot of the things I learned from that, we were able to bring back into our business,” he said. “It opened doors for me by making a commitment to the industry, being able to sit and learn from others and then being able to try to apply it.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.