Chestnut Group, parent company of Chestnut Market, and CEO Ryan Oettinger have parted ways, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
Oettinger said in an email he resigned from the post, adding that he wished the company the best. His LinkedIn bio says he ended his time with Chestnut this month.
Oettinger joined Chestnut in January, and was expected to focus on growing the company’s roughly 80 c-store footprint across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
He brought nearly 20 years of experience at major convenience retailers to the role, having worked across several functions at both Pilot and Chevron, including sales, marketing, health and safety, digital transformation and supply chain.
His most recent role before joining Chestnut was leading Vontier’s North America retail technology and enterprise solutions business, according to his LinkedIn bio. He succeeded Chestnut’s founding brothers Mickey, Sal, Sam and Cal Jamal at the top of the company as those three transitioned to the company’s board of directors.
The spokesperson did not share what Chestnut’s plans are for the CEO position going forward.
This is the second key hire the company has parted ways with this year. Chestnut named Benjamin Lucky as its director of foodservice in March, but Lucky departed after about a week due to what a Chestnut spokesperson called a change of circumstance. Director of Merchandising Farris Jamal took over that role.
Editor's note: This story was updated with more information on Ryan Oettinger's departure from Chestnut. He said he resigned from the post.
