ARKO Corp.’s GPM Investments has expanded its leadership team and named Richard Guidry in the newly created role of senior vice president of food service.
Guidry joins GPM and brings a distinguished track record of over 18 years in the convenience store industry. Immediately prior to joining GPM, Guidry was brand director of food service at Casey’s, where he led menu innovation and simplification initiatives and led a team that was named the Convenience Store News Foodservice Innovator of the Year in 2022. Prior to that, he served as director of operations at Casey’s. Guidry also spent 15 years in various marketing and operational leadership roles at RaceTrac. He is a graduate of Purdue University.
“Richard’s leadership, as well as his food and operations experience, will significantly benefit the GPM team as we develop and grow our food business,” said Michael Bloom, executive vice president, chief merchandising and marketing officer at GPM. “Expanding our food service is one of our three key strategic pillars, and his strong record of operational execution and food innovation and strategy within this highly competitive category will be essential to our growth strategy as one of the leading public companies in the American convenience store industry.”
“I have admired GPM’s acquisition strategy for years and am thrilled to work with the highly experienced team here to help grow the all-important food business with delicious and relevant food service offerings,” said Guidry. “This is an exciting time for the company, with many opportunities for strategic innovation in the food and beverage categories.”
Based in Richmond, Va., ARKO Corp. operates in four reportable segments: retail, which includes convenience stores selling merchandise and fuel products to retail customers; wholesale, which supplies fuel to independent dealers and consignment agents; fleet fueling, which includes the operation of proprietary and third-party cardlock locations and issuance of proprietary fuel cards that provide customers access to a nationwide network of fueling sites; and GPM Petroleum, which sells and supplies fuel to retail and wholesale sites and charges a fixed fee, primarily to fleet fueling sites.