Dive Brief:
- CrossAmerica Partners has appointed Maura Topper, current chief financial officer, as its new president and CEO, effective immediately, the convenience retailer announced on Monday.
- Topper succeeds Charles Nifong, who had led CrossAmerica Partners since late 2019. Nifong is joining the executive management team of Dunne Manning Holdings, a CrossAmerica affiliate that’s also controlled by founder and chairperson Joseph Topper.
- Maura Topper assumes leadership of CrossAmerica as the company continues its years-long investment in building up its company-operated convenience retail footprint.
Dive Insight:
CrossAmerica’s board of directors was “unanimous in its conviction” to promote Maura Topper to the top of the company, Joseph Topper said in the announcement. He added that Maura Topper, who is his daughter, is “the best person” to lead the company into its next growth phase.
Maura Topper became CFO in late 2021 and, since 2014, has also served as vice president and CFO of Dunn Manning. She was a member of CrossAmerica’s board from its initial public offering in 2012 until October of 2014, and again from November of 2019 to today. Earlier in her career, Topper worked for event management firm MSG Promotions and was a senior accountant in the audit practice of Deloitte & Touche, according to her company bio.
Maura Topper’s annual salary has increased to $500,000, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. That is in line with what Nifong has earned in previous years.
Jonathan Benfield, chief accounting officer for CrossAmerica, has been named interim CFO in the aftermath of Topper’s promotion.
“I sincerely thank Charles for his leadership, and for his mentorship of me and our entire team,” Maura Topper said in the announcement. “Thanks to the dedication of our entire team and the strength of our business, the Partnership will continue on its successful trajectory as it enters this exciting new chapter.”
Maura Topper will lead CrossAmerica as it continues its real estate rationalization efforts, which since late 2024 have included beefing up its c-store footprint by converting dealer sites to company-owned locations.
The company is coming off a year in which its retail segment generated a 4% year-over-year increase in gross profit, according to its earnings report released last week. Additionally, CrossAmerica sold 107 properties for over $103 million during fiscal 2025 — the most it’s made in a year from asset sales in company history, Nifong said during the company’s earnings call.
However, after seeing its company-operated c-store count grow by over 25% between 2023 and 2024, that number dipped from 365 to 352 sites between 2024 and 2025, according to its earnings report. Nifong said last week that this drop reflected the asset sales and “class of trade conversions” completed throughout the year. He added that CrossAmerica will continue maximizing the value of said conversions “while focusing on being in retail in the right markets.”
