Elizabeth Salceda, director of operations for Family Express, immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 13. She didn’t speak English, but knew she wanted to go to school and work hard.
This year, she celebrates 10 years as a U.S. citizen, while also celebrating her growth over the past seven years with Valparaiso, Indiana-based Family Express, where she started as an associate manager. She knew early on in her tenure with the 82-store convenience chain that she had a big goal to advance her career.
“My president of operations, many years ago, I went to him, and I said, ‘My kids will go to college,’” she said during a panel on women in c-store leadership at the NACS Show in Chicago Thursday. “I knew that was my goal. What was my plan? My plan was going to be to work hard to get there.”
Three of Salceda’s children have since graduated from college and her fourth child is finishing high school.
She was joined on the panel by Weigel’s Stores Vice President Elizabeth Hoffer and moderator Danielle Holloway, senior director of industry engagement for Altria.
Hoffer came to 86-unit chain Weigel’s, which is based in Powell, Tennessee, 15 years ago, after having worked in foodservice.
“I grew up in the restaurant industry,” Hoffer said. “And I said, ‘I’m going to get my degree and I’m never going to make food again.’”
At the time, she didn’t know Weigel’s would soon launch a full-scale foodservice program, she joked.
During her time in the convenience industry, though, Hoffer said she has worked hard to gain confidence as a leader.
“Sometimes we as women tend to not find our voice and we don’t use it well,” she said. “And sometimes we’re afraid that if we’re out there and we say what we’re going to say, that we’re going to be too much for somebody. It was very hard in my 30s to find my voice and be able to say what I needed to say and be heard in the rooms I was in. A lot of us are still in rooms where we may be the only girl.”
Both Salceda and Hoffer said they love watching other women rise through the leadership ranks at their respective companies.
Family Express has worked hard to achieve a 36% turnover rate, one of the lowest in the industry, by hiring only about one in every 50 carefully screened job applicants.
Weigel’s recently restructured its compensation structure so that everyone, including frontline employees, receives a bonus when the retailer does well.
Women bring unique skills to their organizations, they said.
- Family Express Corp. is No. 86 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count. Weigel's is No. 84.
“Humility,” Hoffer said. “I think women are more in tune to giving credit to their team, which are the people who really do the work … I think that we have empathy for our employees and we care for them … But also, as a mom, we’re good at holding them accountable.”
Women are also masters at multitasking, Salceda noted.
“There might be someone in the room today who might not think they can do it,” she said. “We’re here to tell you, ‘Yes, you can.’”
CSP's C-Store Women event takes place Nov. 3-5 in San Antonio, Texas. Click here for more information.
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