RetailerSpotlight
Andrea Jackson, president and COO of Jacksons Food Stores, was chosen by Idaho Business Review as one of Idaho's "Women of the Year." She was honored because of her professional accomplishments, willingness to serve in volunteer organizations and to mentor other women. Jackson has risen from clerk to president and COO of Jacksons Food Stores, a rapidly growing convenience store chain that currently has more than 100 stores. Her responsibilities include marketing, operations, training, human resources, construction, maintenance and foodservice.
"Because our system is truly fair, we have diversity at every level, including women at the highest levels in our company," Jackson said. "If you focus on developing the people on your team it is amazing the places they will take you."
Chevron Corp. has appointed Jay Pryor
to the position of vice president for business development, reporting to Dave O'Reilly, chairman and CEO. Pryor has served for the past four years as managing director of the Nigeria/Mid-Africa strategic business unit, one of Chevron's largest international upstream operations. Pryor joined Chevron in 1979 and has held numerous positions within the company, including manager of petroleum engineering at Tengizchevroil (a Chevron joint-venture partnership) in Kazakhstan and managing director for Thailand, before moving to Lagos, Nigeria.
Pilot Travel Centers LLC recently promoted Laura Palenkas to director of merchandising. Palenkas is responsible for managing all packaged food and beverage items, fountain and grill consumables, tobacco products, as well as the pricebook. Prior to her promotion, Palenkas was senior national category manager for Pilot. She came to Pilot in 1995 from Fraser, Mich., where she owned Image Inc. Promotions from 1988 to 1995. She is a 2000 Pilot Spirit Award recipient and a member of Network for Executive Women (NEW).
CITGO Petroleum Corp. appointed Frank Gygax as chief operating officer, replacing Jerry Thompson, who retired. Thompson, a 35-year veteran of the company, served as COO since 2003. Gygax has more than 30 years of experience in the refining industry. In his most recent role as vice president of refining, Gygax was responsible for integrating and optimizing the PDVSA and CITGO refining systems. Prior to joining CITGO, he served as president of SINCOR, a joint venture between PDVSA, TotalFinaElf and Statoil. He also served as general manager of PDVSA's Paraguayan refining complex. Several other internal promotions also were announced at CITGO: Vice President, Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex Al Prebula has been named vice president of refining, replacing Gygax. Vice President and General Manager, Corpus Christi Refinery Randy Carbo has been named vice president Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, replacing Prebula. General Manager of Operations and Maintenance at the Corpus Christi Refinery Eduardo Asseff will replace Carbo. Vice President of Supply and Distribution Bill Hatch assumes additional responsibility as vice president of supply and marketing.
Piccadilly Circus Pizza has announced the promotions of three of its employees: Dana Evaro assumes the role of director of marketing services, while both Don Massey and Jay Levandoski become regional directors of business development. In his new position, Evaro will help develop and manage marketing promotions designed for growth to existing Piccadilly Circus Pizza locations. As regional director of business development, Massey is in charge of operations and management for all Piccadilly Circus Pizza personnel in the Southeast U.S., an eight state territory. Levandoski shares similar responsibilities as regional director of business development in the Northeast, a 17-state territory that begins as far West as Indiana and includes New England.
Filterfresh Coffee Service Inc., a subsidiary of Van Houtte Inc., announced that David Larimer has taken over the position of president. Larimer, previously with Mobil Oil and Priceline.com replaces Roger Cohen, president since 2002, and one of the original franchise owners. Larimer brings to Filterfresh 22 years of retail experience with a proven track record in sales, marketing, operations, business development and franchise. He has achieved results in several environments, ranging from startup ventures to mature businesses and turnaround situations.
Bill Loeffelholz was promoted to the position of export/ government and special accounts sales manager for Broaster Systems Division. Loeffelholz joined Broaster in April 2003, and after serving as a Broaster distributor support representative in the domestic market for the past three years, he has excelled at growing new business, bringing on new distributors, assisting existing distributors and building the product knowledge of distributor-sales personnel. In his new role, Loeffelholz will use that expertise to direct all facets of Broaster's export and government sales, working in a similar fashion with export management companies, foreign distributors and government. He will also call on key domestic chain accounts and support in-house and off-site training seminars conducted by The Broaster Co. for domestic, export and government foodservice operators.
Win-Holt Equipment Group, a manufacturer of high-quality material handling and foodservice equipment, announced the promotion of Dominick Scarfogliero to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Scarfogliero will play a critical role in leading and expanding the organization through increased sales, continued market growth, innovative product development and enhanced operating efficiency. He has extensive experience in manufacturing and operations management, and has been an intricate part of Win-Holt's management team for more than 10 years.