The Pantry Hires New Chief Financial Officer

CARY, N.C. -- The Pantry Inc. has hired B. Clyde Preslar as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He joins the retailer's executive leadership team Feb. 7.

Preslar brings with him extensive financial experience. He comes to The Pantry from RailAmerica Inc., where he served since 2008 as senior vice president and chief financial officer for the short line and regional freight railroad operator.

"Clyde is a proven leader ideally suited for The Pantry with more than 15 years of financial leadership experience as a chief financial officer," said The Pantry's President and CEO Dennis Hatchell. "Clyde has an extensive breadth of financial experience, including financial leadership in the consumer goods arena, and an exceptional track record of financial management, planning and corporate development. We look forward to having Clyde join the executive leadership team."

Prior to RailAmerica, Preslar served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Cott Corp., a manufacturer of non-alcoholic beverage products, and as vice president and chief financial officer and secretary at snack food manufacturer Lance Inc. Earlier in his career, Preslar was director of financial services for worldwide power tools at Black & Decker, and served as director of investor relations at RJR Nabisco.

Preslar holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics from Elon College in North Carolina and a master's degree in business administration from Wake Forest University. He also sits on the board of directors of Alliance One International Inc. and is a past director of Forward Air Corp.

The Cary, N.C.-based company operates 1,572 convenience stores in 13 states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express, its primary operating banner.