Nate Brazier, former Stinker Stores president and CEO, has joined Texas-based TXB as its new president, working closely alongside Kevin Smartt, the chain’s CEO. A few weeks after his new start, CStore Decisions caught up with him to dive deeper into his new role, his goals and how he envisions success for the year ahead.
CStore Decisions (CSD): What prompted you to consider TXB as your next step?
Nate Brazier (NB): I’ve followed TXB for a while now, and I really appreciated and knew some of the folks here. I knew Kevin (Smartt) and some of the others, and I really appreciated the quality of people and the brand. As I took some time and decided where I wanted to be next, TXB was definitely at the top of my list. And really, it’s around the opportunity to work with great people, to do really fun things for our team members and also our guests that come into our stores every day and build off of the really strong foundation that TXB has built and really enhance that and come in at a time when we’re growing in several different ways. That’s what I wanted to be a part of. That’s what brought me here. I’m glad I did it.
CSD: You’re president, and Kevin Smartt is the CEO. How are you dividing these different responsibilities, and where do you expect your roles to complement each other?
NB: It’s a transition time right now, and it will be for the next little bit as we understand and align on where we want to go and what that leads to. And I’ve always had a lot of respect (for Smartt), and the relationship we have is absolutely key to leading the teams on where we want to go.
As we go through this transition and determine, “Here’s where Kevin will focus, here’s where I will focus, and here’s where we’ll focus together,” that’s what we’re laying out. Off the bat, my responsibility is the day-to-day operations (and to) free up some time for Kevin to focus on the overall strategy and vision for TXB, and we align on that. The great thing is our personalities match in a really unique way and in a way that I know will benefit the two of us, but more importantly, will benefit TXB as a whole.
CSD: Is there a leadership lesson that you have from Stinker Stores that you can apply initially?
NB: For sure, and it’s one of the reasons I joined TXB: the No. 1 focus on people. People come first, and it’s not just what I’ve loved and knew a little bit prior, but (something) that was reinforced time and time again over the last couple weeks. It all starts with the people, meaning our team members in the support center, our team members out in the stores as well as our guests every day. That is one that I’m grateful is alive and well at TXB and that I’ve always believed in. That’s where it matters. It starts with the people.
CSD: As you settle into these first few months, is there a workforce initiative that you’d like to implement right away?
NB: There isn’t. My priority is to listen and learn and understand what’s made TXB what it is today. And as I do that, formulate the plan that’s going to help us get even better. I talked with the team a lot this week in the stores, and it’s about “How do we get a little bit better each day?” and so I’m still formulating that. I shut my mouth and open my ears, listen to what it is, and then formulate the plan as we go forward.
CSD: What outcomes do you think would define a successful first year for you at TXB?
NB: Overall, I would say a year from now, looking back and saying success is “Did we get better?” Meaning, did we get better at developing our people? Did we get better at serving our guest? And really the big focus, too, for us is food. What were the things that we did? Did we grow not just in transactions, but did we grow the value that we deliver to our guests over this first year? And did we make it so that our people can execute a high-quality food program? Did we make it a little bit more efficient for them, more enjoyable, whatever that may be? But looking at the growth. Again, it goes back to our people. Did we grow our people? And that growth will show up in in our overall performance.
“Two weeks in, I’m grateful. I’m just humbled and grateful to be with this team. We have a very awesome team that has the desire to do great things, and that’s what it takes,” Brazier added at the end of the conversation.
To learn more about Brazier’s history, click here.
