People on the Move: Parker's, CITGO & EnsembleIQ
NATIONAL REPORT — Retailers, wholesalers, and suppliers in the convenience store industry are only as good as their management teams and employees. In this special roundup, Convenience Store News runs down the most recent executive changes at the top of the industry.
Alto-Shaam
Alto-Shaam hired Brian Newland as senior vice president of national accounts, reporting to Lucy McQuillian, chief commercial officer.
In this newly created role, Newland will lead and manage Alto-Shaam's national chain accounts team in the successful execution of strategic objectives and growth targets by developing strong value-based relationships with key customers and partners.
Additionally, Newland will be responsible for the strategic development and tactical execution of targeted regional and national chain growth within the quick-service restaurant, supermarket retail and convenience store industry market segments.
"I am very pleased to welcome Brian to the Alto-Shaam family," McQuillian said. "He joins us with a wealth of experience across the industry and a proven track record of successfully leading commercial key accounts teams."
Prior to joining the business, Newland spent 19 years at snacks manufacturer Shearer Foods, working his way up to the role of senior vice president of retail sales.
Bazooka Candy Brands
Bazooka Candy Brands (BCB), a division of the Bazooka Co., promoted two key team members as vice presidents to its confectionery executive leadership team.
Becky Silberfarb, vice president of brand marketing, will oversee the continued growth of the organization's marketing efforts as BCB expands with new audiences, new products and new markets. In her new role, she will also oversee marketing efforts for Latin America.
Silberfarb joined BCB as a brand manager in 2016 and most recently held the position of senior director of marketing. Prior to joining the organization, Silberfarb spent three years at Danone, where she was a key player in the relaunch of Activia Light and led promotional concepting and execution of Danimal's annual Rally for Recess Campaign.
Silberfarb is actively involved with the National Confectioners Association.
Lizzy Mangold, vice president of e-commerce and innovation, will lead a cross-functional team in all aspects of BCB's e-commerce initiatives and innovation strategy for the entire BCB portfolio.
Mangold joined the organization as an associate brand manager in 2011. During her tenure, she has held various roles in brand marketing, international, innovation and e-commerce, culminating in her most recent role of senior director of innovation and e-commerce marketing.
Prior to joining BCB, Mangold was at The New York Cosmos, where she worked alongside the chief marketing officer and director of communications to rebuild the New York Cosmos brand, leading marketing programs and fan engagement.
CITGO
CITGO promoted Stephen McNabb as treasurer, succeeding Gina Coon, who retired last year. McNabb previously served as assistant treasurer and has been with the company since 2016.
In his new role, McNabb will oversee many of CITGO's financial affairs, including liquidity management, capital structure, financial risk and insurance, while also assisting the company's chief financial officer in developing new strategies.
Before joining CITGO, he served in leadership roles at Bridgepoint Consulting, Magnum Forge and Protiviti. McNabb has nearly 20 years of experience in areas related to finance, accounting, planning and analysis, and consulting, primarily within the energy industry.
Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands Inc. appointed Lucy Brady as president of Grocery & Snacks, effective June 15. In her new role, Brady will lead the ongoing modernization and growth of Conagra's grocery and snack portfolio, with a focus on delivering products that reflect evolving consumer demand and trends.
Brady brings extensive experience in marketing, corporate strategy, innovation, business development, and value creation to her new role. She spent the past six years with McDonald's Corp. as chief digital customer engagement officer and senior vice president of corporate strategy, business development and innovation.
Prior to McDonald's, she spent 19 years at Boston Consulting Group, including nine years as a senior partner and managing director, where she advised some of the world's largest consumer companies on growth, innovation and transformation.
Dawn Foods
Dawn Foods hired Melissa Bautista as the company's new vice president of manufacturing for North America and promoted Emily Gittins to vice president, global corporate controller.
Bautista joins Dawn from Utz Brands Inc. and will be responsible for building Dawn's long-term manufacturing capabilities in North America around safety, cost, quality and service, while also helping the company achieve its current business objectives. She will report to John Schmitz, president, North America.
In her most recent role, Bautista served as vice president of manufacturing for Utz Brands, overseeing three manufacturing locations and four distribution centers for the snack food company. During her time at Utz, she also served as area vice president of operations and as plant manager for the company's Algona, Wash., location. Prior to Utz, Bautista spent 11 years in a variety of supply chain roles at Frito Lay.
Starting in July, Gittins takes on her new role as vice president of global corporate controller, replacing Jean Rauchholz, who will retire this summer. Gittins has been with Dawn Foods for 15 years and previously served as senior director of financial reporting, accounting standards and policies, reporting to Rauchholz.
Prior to joining Dawn as an internal auditor in 2007, she worked at the U.S. Department of Defense as an inspector general auditor. Gittins, who is based at the company's global headquarters in Jackson, Mich., is also a member of the Dawn Women's Leadership Development Program.
EnsembleIQ
Convenience Store News parent company EnsembleIQ named Jesse Yeung as vice president of marketing. In this newly created role, Yeung will be responsible for EnsembleIQ's marketing strategy, including brand marketing, marketing communications and marketing operations that fuel audience engagement, revenue and business growth in the retail, healthcare and hospitality markets.
Prior to joining EnsembleIQ, he spent several years at Informa Connect as marketing director, where he was responsible for leading an integrated marketing strategy for digital and event brands in the restaurant, foodservice, catering, grocery, meetings and special events industries.
"We are fortunate to have Jesse to lead our marketing efforts. He brings a wealth of experience in the business-to-business foodservice, grocery and meetings/events industries to this important position. Jesse's role is vital to increasing awareness of EnsembleIQ and our properties in retail, healthcare and hospitality," said Joe Territo, executive vice president, content and communications, at EnsembleIQ.
Parker's
Parkers hired two experienced convenience store leaders to support the company's growth and continued expansion across coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
As senior director of marketing, Douglas Parker brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the c-store industry. In his new role, he will lead the marketing team in category management, merchandising, price book, advertising and loyalty. He will also oversee brand and marketing strategies.
Prior to joining Parker's, he served in leadership positions with CEFCO Convenience Stores, Road Ranger, Kroger Convenience Stores and GPM Investments LLC's FAS Mart Corp.
As director of construction, Thomas Rutledge will play a key role in the future growth of Parker's and Parker's Kitchen locations. Rutledge brings 15 years of experience in convenience store construction development to his new position. Before joining Parker's, he served as the project manager for Wawa Inc. for more than a decade, where he managed all aspects of construction activities and spearheaded the development of a diesel program.
VP Racing Fuels
VP Racing Fuels promoted Karen Madden to new chief operating officer (COO). With the change, Ben Dolan assumes the role of vice president of branded retail.
As COO, Madden is responsible for the operations of VP Racing Fuels' three manufacturing, warehousing and shipping facilities in Texas and Tennessee. Madden joined the company in 2019 after 16 years at DTN, a data, analytics and technology company, where she was senior vice president. Before that she was with ExxonMobil and FuelQuest, holding positions that touched every aspect of the wholesale and retail fuels industry.
"Karen did a fantastic job as our vice president of branded retail, growing the division by double digits in the past three years," said Alan Cerwick, president and CEO of VP Racing Fuels. "Her deep industry experience in systems, logistics, and distribution will ensure we meet the demands of our incredible growth, and anticipated accelerated growth as we expand globally."
Dolan joined the company in 2020 as vice president of marketing. In his new role, Dolan brings more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience across a broad range of industries.
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