Dive Brief:
- Casey’s General Stores has shuffled its leadership team as the convenience retailer embarks on its new three-year growth plan, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- The changes, which took effect June 28, include one C-suite appointment: Company veteran Doug Means was named senior vice president and chief information officer, according to the spokesperson.
- The restructuring aims to “strengthen strategic execution, build organizational resilience and support long-term growth,” the spokesperson said.
Dive Insight:
Casey’s made 10 leadership changes across its finance, real estate, supply chain, merchandising and technology teams about a week after unveiling a three-year growth plan that calls for 400 new convenience stores in both existing and new markets.
“These leadership changes help position Casey’s to continue delivering sustained growth while advancing our strategic priorities over the next three years,” Darren Rebelez, president and CEO of Casey’s, said in a statement to C-Store Dive.
Means, the new CIO, previously served as senior VP of supply chain and efficiency and is replacing Sanjeev Satturu, who had held the CIO role for the past three years. Satturu is no longer with Casey’s, according to the spokesperson, who did not respond by press time to questions about his departure.
Many of the changes involve executives moving into one another’s roles, a practice that is not uncommon in convenience retail.
Kendra Meyer moved from VP of real estate to VP of sourcing and procurement. Sam James, who previously worked as VP of sourcing and procurement, was promoted to senior VP of finance and investor relations, while Steven Robins transitioned from VP of finance to VP of real estate.
Elsewhere, Chris Stewart moved from VP of merchandising into the newly created role of VP of fuels. Fareed Siddiqui, formerly VP of merchandising and marketing for Casey’s CEFCO banner, became VP of merchandising focusing on the retailer’s grocery and general merchandise categories.
The restructuring also created several new positions. Pierre Hakim, formerly VP of data and analytics, was named VP of enterprise strategy, data and artificial intelligence. Josh Gondek, previously senior director of grocery transportation, became VP of distribution operations. Brian Johnson, formerly senior VP of investor relations and business development, will now focus on business development and mergers and acquisitions as SVP of business development.
The leadership changes included the retirement of Division VP Dave Johnson on April 30. He was succeeded by Kim Lippert, who most recently served as Casey’s director of acquisition and operations implementation, according to her LinkedIn bio.
