CSP is now accepting nominations for its 2026 Category Manager of the Year awards. Two winners will be selected in each category, one from a chain with 200 or fewer stores and one with 201 or more stores. Now in its 11th year, the CMOY awards honor category managers who are leading by example and pushing the convenience-store industry forward.
Through Dec. 1, CSP is calling for retailer, supplier and wholesale partners to submit their nominations for the industry’s best category managers via this year’s CMOY Nomination Form.
One person can nominate several different category managers. Please keep in mind large and small chains when making nominations.
Prospective CMOY nominees should meet the following criteria:
- Drive sales through innovative thinking with a sharp focus on data.
- Influence others within his or her company and the c-store industry.
- Have a deep understanding of their customers and markets.
- Foster meaningful relationships within the industry.
Nominees can be entered in the following categories:
- Behind the Counter (Tobacco, Vape, etc.)
- Center Store (Candy, Snacks, General Merchandise)
- Dispensed Beverages
- Foodservice
- Forecourt/Fuels
- Loyalty + Tech/Operations
- Nonalcohol Beverages
- Alcohol
The three category managers with the most nominations in both the small chain and large chain brackets will move forward. The CSP editorial staff will also carefully consider each nomination to ensure accuracy.
Finalists will be announced for all categories in December. Voting on finalists by industry suppliers will then commence. Each supplier can vote for two winners from each category, one from a chain with 200 or fewer stores, and one from a chain with 201 or more stores.
The winners of the CMOY Awards will be announced during CSP’s 2026 Convenience Retailing University event, which will be held Feb. 24-26 in Austin, Texas.
All winners will also be featured in the April issue of CSP magazine.
2026 Methodology
- Retailer, supplier and wholesale partners can submit their nominations for the industry’s best category managers via this year’s CMOY nomination form through Dec. 1. Anyone can make a nomination. Separate nominations can be made for a category manager from a chain with 200 or fewer stores and a chain with 201 or more stores. Store counts will be determined by using CSP’s 2025 Top 202 list of largest c-store chains by U.S. store count.
- After nominations close, the six finalists in each category with the most votes, three finalists for smaller chains and three finalists for larger chains, will move on to the final round of voting. CSP editors will vet the finalists before moving on to the final round.
- Voting for winners will be open in December. Only supplier partners may cast votes for this round—not retailers. There will be two winners for each category, determined by who receives the most votes for retailers with 200 stores or fewer and retailers with 201 or more stores. CSP editors will review the votes to make sure the winners are in the appropriate category and store-count range.
- Winners will be announced and recognized at Convenience Retailing University (CRU), which will be held Feb. 24-26 in Austin, Texas.
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