SAN ANTONIO -- Convenience-store company CST Brands Inc. has named senior vice president and chief marketing officer Hal Adams to the newly created position of president of retail operations, combining marketing and merchandising with operations, the company has announced among several additional leadership changes.
“By combining our operations, marketing and merchandising group under the experienced leadership of Hal Adams, we will have a unified chain of command to support our high-reaching goals of increasing gains in inside store sales and margins and providing best-in-class operations in both our legacy and new stores,” said CST CEO and president Kim Lubel.
Tony Bartys, senior vice president and COO, will now report to Adams.
And Stephane Trudel, CST’s senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions, will take the newly created position of senior vice president of growth and strategy, which will combine oversight over acquisitions, divestments, strategic planning and business analytics, construction and real estate and the Canadian wholesale operations, some of which was formerly under the oversight of Steve Motz, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, who will be retiring the first quarter of this year.
"By combining our organic NTI [new-to-industry] growth, acquisitions, divestitures, strategic planning and business analytics under Mr. Trudel, we can better coordinate and allocate our capital and resources to achieve aggressive large format store growth and expand our geographic presence, which are key components to achieving our 2020 vision.”
Adams has more than 25 years of retail experience, having served as the vice president of retail merchandising at Valero Energy Corp. from 2001 until 2013 when he took on his most recent position as senior vice president and chief marketing officer at CST Brands. He began his career as a “graveyard-shift” store associate in a Stop N Go store in Ventura, Calif.
Trudel previously served as the senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions, and has nearly 25 years of experience in the fuel marketing business, including 18 years of service in Canada.
As reported in a McLane Co./CSP Daily News Flash, Adams and Trudel will report directly to Lubel.
Motz will be retiring after 33 years of service in the fuel and convenience-store industry.
“From launching our Canadian company-owned retail operations to expanding our fuel supply business with new partners like Shell and Phillips 66 and numerous acquisitions along the way, Steve has touched every aspect of our company operations across his tenure. He has been an invaluable mentor and leader and will be missed by all,” Lubel said.
Christian Houle, senior vice president of Canadian retail, is also retiring after 20 years with the company and 40 years of retail experience. He has elected to retire in first-quarter 2016.
"Mr. Houle has provided a steady, calming presence through what has been a significant transformation in CST’s Canadian operations," said Lubel.
2020 Vision
The leadership structure changes come at a time when CST is experiencing pressure from two activist shareholder groups--Houston-based JCP Investment Management LLC and New York City-based Engine Capital LP--that have raised concerns over the retail strategy for the company's Corner Store convenience store network..
CST has offered details about its ongoing efforts and said it is “encouraged by recent results.” It is confident that continued execution of its already-in-place strategic plan will result in superior, long-term financial performance. The company said it “continues to execute on that plan and has a demonstrated track record of taking decisive actions to enhance stockholder value since its spinoff from Valero Energy Corp. in 2013.”
The goal of the company’s 2020 vision, it said, is to grow its gross profit, while reducing exposure to the volatility of commodity prices of oil and refined petroleum products. The vision is to increase gross profit with 70% of gross profit dollars coming from non-fuel sales and 30% from fuel sales.
The strategy to achieve these goals is to increase merchandise sales and margins though expanded in-store offerings, including higher margin food offerings; increase the larger store portfolio organically through NTI store construction; grow the larger store portfolio through strategic merger and acquisition opportunities; and maximize fuel gross profit through purchasing strength and pricing strategies.
Key components of this strategic plan include:
- Maximizing profitability of the existing network by optimizing fuel and merchandising volume and margins. The company’s recent results show strong momentum, it said, primarily a result of the execution of its strategic plan, which the company expects will continue to drive significant growth in the future.
- Enhancing the company’s store portfolio through strategic acquisitions in attractive markets and disposals of select non-core legacy locations. The company has completed a number of acquisitions over the past two years both through the CST network as well as through CrossAmerica Partners.
- Prudent use of capital including continued return of cash to its stockholders and efficient funding of its growth plan.
Also, the company earlier this month unveiled a sale-leaseback strategy to resuscitate underleveraged real-estate. Through the sale-leaseback venture, CST expects to generate greater liquidity, with plans to invest the new income into large-store ground-ups.
San Antonio-based CST employs more than 14,000 people at approximately 1,900 convenience stores and gas stations in the southwestern United States, New York and eastern Canada offering a broad array of convenience merchandise, beverages, snacks and fresh food. In the United States, CST Corner Stores sell fuel and signature products such as Fresh Choices baked and packaged goods, U Force energy and sport drinks, Cibolo Mountain coffee, FC Soda and Flavors2Go fountain drinks. In Canada, CST is the exclusive provider of Ultramar fuel and its Dépanneur du Coin and Corner Stores sell signature Transit Café coffee and pastries.
CST also owns the general partner of Allentown, Pa.-based CrossAmerica Partners LP, a master limited partnership (MLP) and wholesale distributor of fuels.
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