RaceTrac has hired retail industry veteran Mark Gunn as its first-ever chief people officer, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
Gunn is taking leadership of a department most recently helmed by Jill Van Pelt, RacTrac’s vice president of human resources, who left the company in 2025, according to Van Pelt’s LinkedIn bio. Van Pelt was RaceTrac’s top human resources executive and “principal people advisor,” according to her bio, and directed RaceTrac’s talent strategy and people roadmap for its c-store operations.
RaceTrac’s spokesperson declined to comment when asked if Gunn is set to assume the responsibilities formerly held by Van Pelt. RaceTrac will be Gunn’s first foray into convenience retailing.
“I am energized by the leadership team’s vision and humbled by the trust they have placed in me,” Gunn said in a LinkedIn announcement last week. “I look forward to partnering with our talented teams across the enterprise as we continue to grow, innovate, and deliver on the commitments that make RaceTrac such a special place to work and serve.”
Gunn joins the Atlanta-based convenience chain after spending more than two years as senior vice president of people at sporting goods retailer Hibbett Sports, a subsidiary of sports-fashion company JD Sports, according to his LinkedIn bio. In that position, he led the company’s human resources planning, assisted with M&A due diligence and designed and launched Hibbett’s talent strategy.
Prior to Hibbett, Gunn was chief human resources officer for discount retailer 99 Cents Only Stores for nearly a decade, according to his LinkedIn bio. He left the company in 2023, about a year before it went out of business after years of financial hardship. Before that, he held several VP-level HR positions with off-price apparel and home fashions retailer TJX Companies over about five years.
