Fueling Up is a column from C-Store Dive offering a fresh perspective on the top news and trends in the convenience store industry.
All eyes are on 7-Eleven as it searches for a new chief executive officer.
In late December, Seven & i Holdings announced that longtime leader Joseph DePinto would retire at the end of the year, with Stan Reynolds and Doug Rosencrans, president and COO of 7-Eleven, respectively, serving as co-CEOs until a permanent replacement is hired.
The search for a new CEO comes at a crucial time for 7-Eleven, which is expecting to commence an IPO for its North American business in the second half of this year. With that milestone looming, the company’s next chief executive will be tasked with leading the c-store retailer into a major new growth phase, in addition to helping the company rebound after a difficult few years financially in the U.S.
7-Eleven’s search will arguably be the most closely watched storyline in all of convenience retailing. Here are some executives who could be up for the challenge.
The top candidates
Doug Rosencrans
If I were a betting man, I’d put my chips on Rosencrans becoming 7-Eleven’s next chief executive.
Not only does his status as interim co-CEO give him a leg up on most other candidates, but as COO, Rosencrans already has the most important role across the entire company: Spearheading the strategic plans to support growth and profitability for 7-Eleven’s 13,000 c-stores across the U.S. and Canada. That’s the main priority for the company’s next CEO.
Prior to 7-Eleven, Rosencrans — who has also worked with 7-Eleven’s fuel services and franchised store teams — held several leadership roles at Mobil Oil Corporation and ExxonMobil Corporation in fleet operations, category management, field merchandising, retail fuel pricing and retail operations and global strategy.
Stan Reynolds
The next logical choice alongside Rosencrans is his co-CEO, Reynolds, who has been 7-Eleven’s president since 2023 and part of the company since 1997.
As president, Reynolds has his hands in what feels like every area of 7-Eleven. He oversees finance, accounting, tax, mergers and acquisitions, strategy and transformation, construction and facilities management, shared services, real estate, procurement, information technology and the ongoing Speedway integration. It appears the only area he doesn’t have a role in is the store-level experience, which is why I’m notching him slightly below Rosencrans on this list.
Other current 7-Eleven executives
Ken Wakabayashi
Another logical route 7-Eleven could take is to tap the president and current chief executive for its international segment.
Not only would Wakabayashi bring previous CEO experience to the role — he’s led 7-Eleven’s operations outside North America and Japan since 2022, first as co-CEO then tackling the role alone — but he’s also familiar with the company’s U.S. business. He held numerous leadership positions with 7-Eleven’s North America business earlier in his career, including VP of operations support and SVP of planning. He was based at 7-Eleven’s headquarters in Dallas during this period.
If Seven & i intends to promote an internal candidate to become 7-Eleven’s next CEO in North America, Wakabayashi — who joined the company in 1994 — is another pick who has the regional familiarity with the business and leadership experience to make himself a worthy candidate.
Raghu Mahadevan
Seven & i could also think towards the future with 7-Eleven’s next CEO by tapping Mahadevan, the company’s top digital and experience-focused executive. Similar to Rosencrans and Reynolds, Mahadevan also has his fingerprints all over 7-Eleven’s operations.
Mahadevan, 7-Eleven’s EVP and chief digital and demand chain and marketing officer, oversees the digital ecosystem for 7-Eleven customers, stores, franchisees and vendor partners. He has spearheaded the company’s mobile apps, delivery business and research and development operations. He also handles 7-Eleven’s logistics and distribution network and, since earlier last month, leads 7-Eleven’s marketing organization, including its loyalty and retail media programs.
Mahadevan, who joined 7-Eleven in 2018 and has more than 20 years of experience in digital product management, business analysis, marketing and operations, could help 7-Eleven press its advantages in digital operations while also upgrading its stores.
The Seven & i director
Christine Edman
Seven & i could also name one of its board members as 7-Eleven’s next CEO. Edman, the youngest member of Seven & i’s board and the only one with ties to the U.S. besides Seven & i CEO Stephen Dacus — she was born to Japanese and American parents — could be an option.
Edman would be a somewhat risky hire, since her appointment to Seven & i’s board last May was her first foray into convenience retailing. But Edman has years of retail chief executive experience, having previously been president and CEO of fashion brand Givenchy Japan and executive officer with e-commerce brand ZOZO. Additionally, she was also president of H&M Hennes & Mauritz Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of Swedish clothing retailer H&M.
At the time of her appointment to the board, Seven & i emphasized her “wide-ranging expertise” in global retail and "advanced knowledge and experience” on digital transformation and marketing. Add those capabilities to Edman’s career-long desire to spread Japanese culture and values to a global audience — something 7-Eleven is currently trying to achieve in its U.S. stores — and Edman could make a logical fit as the next CEO of 7-Eleven in North America.
External candidates with previous 7-Eleven experience
Ena Williams
7-Eleven could also look to former company executives who’ve gone on to grow their careers with other industry titans. One of those could be the current chief operating officer for one of the fastest-growing and top-performing retailers in the U.S.
Ena Williams, chief operating officer for Casey’s General Stores for the past six years, spent a decade at 7-Eleven earlier in her career, notably serving as SVP and head of international between 2015 and 2018. In that role, she led merchandising, marketing, logistics, human resources and financial analysis, in addition to global operations, licensing and expansion. She also spent 15 years at ExxonMobil and Mobil Oil — including overlapping with Rosencrans.
Furthering her candidacy case, Williams has also been a CEO. She spent a year leading the largest direct provider of technology-enabled medical equipment in the hospice industry, National HME.
Greg Franks
BP’s Greg Franks has become one of the faces of the oil giant’s U.S. convenience retailing network in recent years, having overseen the company’s thousands of branded c-stores and travel centers in the U.S. and Mexico since 2021. Franks was even named interim CEO of TravelCenters of America last year when the chain’s leader stepped down, and he had a hand in introducing the permanent replacement shortly after.
Franks joined BP after about 11 years with 7-Eleven working across several areas of the business, such as SVP and chief franchise officer, SVP of U.S. operations, and VP of acquisition operations. Franks also held several leadership positions for over two decades with Walmart, and that cross-channel knowledge undoubtedly plays in his favor.
Well-known industry execs outside 7-Eleven
Donna Sanker
Sanker feels like a chief executive just waiting to happen, and the longtime industry executive is the only candidate on this list who is currently a free agent.
Sanker’s resume speaks for itself: 23 years at BP, two of those as chief operating officer for U.S. retail and CMO in North America. She also spent six years as president at Parkland, first leading the company’s Canada business and then its U.S. segment before spearheading its international division. She left Parkland after it was acquired by Sunoco last year.
Derek Gaskins
If someone told me they thought Gaskins was the most recognizable executive and personality in all of convenience retailing today, I wouldn't argue.
A frequent participant in retail events and an outspoken industry advocate, Gaskins has worked his way up the leadership ladder since joining the industry in 2002 as director of marketing with GetGo Café + Markets. Since then, he’s been Rutter’s chief customer officer, Yesway’s chief marketing officer and SVP of merchandising and marketing for the now-defunct Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores. He was even the VP of marketing for NACS at one point.
He’s currently the head of guest experience for BP, where he leads the merchandising, marketing, foodservice, own brands, store design and development teams for the retailer’s thousands of c-stores across the country.
The BP role, which he took last year, was Gaskins' first at a major retailer that also has international operations. That experience could come in handy if 7-Eleven were to pluck him as their next chief executive.
