NACS Elects Four New Retailers to Board

LAS VEGAS — Four new retailer members were elected to serve on the board of directors of NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, this week during the 2015 NACS Show. The convenience store industry retailers were named to their positions during the annual NACS board of directors meeting at the show.

The new retailer members are:

• Lisa Dell'Alba, president and CEO of Square One Markets; Bethlehem, Pa.
• Dee Dhaliwal, president of Dhaliwal & Associates; Pleasanton, Calif.
• Bill Kent, president and CEO, The Kent Cos. dba Kent Kwik Convenience Stores; Midland, Texas
• Victor Paterno, CEO of Philippine Seven Corp. dba 7-Eleven Convenience Store; Mandaluyong, Philippines

Dell'Alba started out as manager of Square One Markets' flagship location before moving on to a variety of roles and eventually becoming the human resources director and later vice president of operations. She became president of Square One Markets in 2009 and also serves as president of the company's fuel wholesale business, Keystone Fuels. Founded in 1971, the family-owned Square One Markets operates nine stores in Pennsylvania.

With nearly 30 years of experience in the c-store industry, Dhaliwal has worked continuously in the family-owned Dhaliwal & Associates, which operates a chain of four stores with gas and car washes, and became vice president in 1995. He also serves on the boards of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, the Pacific Oil Conference and the American Petroleum and Convenience Association. He is a past president of the California Service Station and Auto Repair Association.

Kent joined the family businesses of Kent Oil Inc. and Kent Distributors Inc. in 1980 and acquired 100 percent of the companies in a leveraged buyout in 1984. Today, the Kent Cos. operates more than 80 retail facilities, including 40 Kent Kwik convenience stores and travel stops, Huddle House restaurants, Rustic Cafe, Baskin-Robbins, Avis Lube fast oil change centers and Mr. Payroll check-cashing. Kent is current president of the Chevron Texaco Petroleum Marketers Association and a member of the Chevron East Marketer Council.

An engineer by trade, Paterno joined Philippine Seven Corp., which holds the license to operate 7-Eleven c-stores in the Philippines, at the invitation of his father, the chairman. After starting out as construction and maintenance manager in 1993, Paterno continued with the company after finding he enjoyed the challenges of the industry. He was appointed president and CEO in 2005. The company has 1,500 c-stores and plans to maintain a 25-percent store footprint growth trajectory over the next decade.

NACS is led by a 30-member board of directors that includes three retailers from non-North American countries. The chairman and chairman-elect of the NACS Supplier Board also serve on the board of directors.