Pilot Company has appointed Chief Operating Officer Brad Anderson as the travel center chain’s new president of retail, a spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
Anderson had been COO since late 2023, a role in which he led the overall strategy for Pilot’s retail and food operations across its entire network. This included overseeing Pilot’s 900 travel centers, as well as its owned and operated restaurants.
Besides continuing with those responsibilities, Anderson will oversee the shift to bring Pilot’s brand, marketing and consumer insights team under the company’s retail umbrella, the spokesperson said. Pilot’s spokesperson emphasized that these departments are “a natural fit within the retail vertical and will continue to focus on creating exceptional experiences through the Pilot brand.”
This shift underscores Pilot’s aim to center its business around retail and energy, Pilot CEO Adam Wright said in a statement to C-Store Dive.
“Pilot’s purpose-driven strategy brings together two distinct, yet integrated verticals of retail and energy to advance our company’s ambition to be the leading energy and experience provider people rely on to fuel their journeys,” Wright said.
The spokesperson did not respond by press time when asked who Anderson’s replacement at COO might be.
“I am excited to take on the role of president, retail at Pilot!” Anderson said in a LinkedIn announcement on Thursday. “Our stores are so special to me — it’s where it all comes together for our guests. From the products and services we offer, to providing best-in-class hospitality — each day we create exceptional experiences for the 1.2 million guests we welcome to our stores.”
Anderson joined Pilot in 2019 in the company’s field operations department and became a division vice president in 2020, according to his LinkedIn bio. He was named zone vice president in 2021 and senior vice president of operations in March 2023 before becoming COO that September.
Prior to joining Pilot, Anderson spent 17 years with Brunswick Corporation, a marine recreation firm, where he held several positions ranging from a business analyst for mergers and acquisitions all the way up to president and general manager for its Sea Ray boats business.
Another of Anderson’s top priorities in recent years has been spearheading Pilot’s $1 billion store remodeling initiative, in which the company aims to refurbish 400 locations across the U.S. As of April, more than 200 locations had been remodeled as part of the program.
In an interview with C-Store Dive during the 2023 NACS Show, Anderson said hitting all 400 remodels will take “the next several years” to achieve, well behind the company’s initial goal to have them completed in 2025.
In addition to Anderson’s promotion to president of retail, Pilot has also named Eva Rigamonti as chief legal officer, the spokesperson said. Rigamonti joined Pilot in late 2024 as VP of government and legal affairs, according to her LinkedIn bio.
