WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Convenience-store retailer Yesway has promoted Douglas Wald to vice president of operations.
Previously, Wald served as regional manager for Yesway. He will continue to manage daily operations of the firm’s portfolio of convenience stores, assisting individual store managers with all aspects of store operations, including hiring, training and mentoring staff, creating merchandising and marketing plans and complying with laws and regulations.
Wald’s new responsibilities will include overseeing the operating budget for the portfolio, including profit and loss (P&L) for each individual store, and serving as liaison between store-level employees and senior management.
“As part of the announcement of the Wes-T-Go acquisition, we are delighted to have Doug leading day-to-day retail operations and facilitate the growth of the team to support our expansion plans,” said Brian Trout, senior vice president of operations for Yesway, West Des Moines, Iowa. “Doug’s depth of experience in store operations and retail acquisitions will help lead Yesway into the future.”
Prior to joining Yesway, Wald was a regional operations manager for The Pantry, Inc., Cary, N.C., where he held P&L responsibility for 85 c-stores in Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky that generated more than $280 million per year in sales. He was also responsible for daily operations and fuel pricing and implemented marketing plans to enhance product merchandising and facility appearance.
Prior to this position, Wald was the COO for Presto Convenience Stores (acquired by The Pantry in 2010), where he managed 54 stores in two states with combined annual sales in excess of $250 million. Wald oversaw all store operations and built long-standing relationships with vendors to enhance product presentation and marketing methods.
Yesway said it plans to acquire, improve and rebrand 500 convenience stores in selected regions of the United States over the next several years.
To help lead that expansion effort, BW Gas & Convenience Holdings LLC, doing business as Yesway, has hired Jamie Hatch as vice president of construction and maintenance.
BW Gas & Convenience is a unit of Brookwood Financial, Beverly, Mass., a private-equity investment firm that specializes in acquiring and managing value-add commercial real estate for a group of institutional investors, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Since its founding in 1993, Brookwood has raised more than $884 million of equity to acquire a portfolio of 185 commercial properties, seven operating companies and 38 gas stations and c-stores, which have a realized and unrealized value in excess of $2.4 billion.
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