Tom LongPresident and Chief Commercial OfficerMillerCoors Since becoming president and chief commercial officer of Miller Brewing Co. in 2006, Tom Long has guided his company through several successful changes, including the joint venture agreement that created MillerCoors last July. Long also made the crucial decision to locate the newly merged company in downtown Chicago instead…
The Industry’s Power 25 (part 4)
J. Michael Walsh President and CEO Core-Mark Holding Co. Inc. It would be tough to overstate how important the company J. Michael Walsh leads is to the c-store industry. As one of the largest broad-line, full-service distributors of packaged consumer products to the convenience retail industry in North America, Core-Mark provides distribution and logistics services…
The Industry’s Power 25 (part 3)
Donald ZietlowPresident and CEOKwik Trip Inc. Kwik Trip CEO Donald Zietlow and his team at the La Crosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip Inc. have built a well-oiled network of facilities and operations that support more than 380 Kwik Trip and Kwik Star stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The Kwik Trip brand started in a small…
The Industry’s Power 25 (part 2)
Robert Myers President and CEOCasey’s General Stores Inc. About 40 years and 1,470 stores later, Casey’s General Stores still prefers those small Midwestern towns. If not for the small-town charm they offer, then at least for the collective $4.8 billion they generated this past year to make Casey’s a leader in the world of convenience.…
CSD at the Races
NASCAR appeals to millions of race fans across the U.S. Spend any time at a race and you’ll quickly know why. It’s not just the roar of the engines or the intoxicating smell of burning rubber and motor fuel—it’s the intense, high-speed race to be a champion that at any given moment could send one…
A Clear Vision
Smoking restrictions, excessive taxes and competition from tax-free sources on Native American reservations and the Internet have proven to be three obstacles too big to overcome for most convenience store retailers. For Smoker’s Express, a seven-store chain based in Fairless Hill, Pa., these obstacles are merely gateways to new sales opportunities. Nestled in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh…
Shades of Gray
As Howard Glavin tells it, this whole PCI thing starts to sound more like a job for Ernest Borgnine than it does the information technology department. The Digital Dozen. Nuclear toxic waste. Shades of gray. A former FBI agent turned global manager of PCI at IBM Internet Security Systems (ISS), Glavin turned some smooth analogies…
Economic Sign of the Times
Convenience store retailers are no strangers to dealing with adversity. Whether it’s Wal-Mart, finding talented labor or dealing with high gas prices, the industry has persevered by choosing good locations and providing outstanding service to loyal customers. But a downturn in the economy poses a new threat many may not be ready for: loyal customers…
The Industry’s Power 25
"AN OUTSTANDING LEADER," "INNOVATIVE," AND "A TRUE VISIONARY." Such high praise could only describe the outstanding leaders guiding the convenience store and petroleum industry during a period of economic turmoil. Convenience Store Decisions is proud to recognize these titans of industry in the second annual Power 25 issue. These influential business leaders were selected for…
PCATS Appoints New Executive Director, CEO
The Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS) has appointed Thomas Oare as its new executive director and CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2009. Oare replaces the present executive director and CEO, John Hervey, who announced his retirement effective Jan. 31. "We are extremely pleased to have found someone with the background and experience of Tom…