The National Advisory Group’s (NAG) Young Executives Organization (YEO) is pleased to announce that Alex Garoutte, Garet Bishop and Kalen Frese have joined the board of directors for a two-year term.
The largest problem facing businesses today isn’t competition, rising taxes or access to financing. It is developing human capital. Executive leadership development is crucial to the long-term viability of businesses of all sizes, especially in the competitive convenience store industry.
The Young Executive Organization’s (YEO) mission is to cultivate young talent in the convenience store and petroleum industry through implementation of education and networking. YEO is focused on providing a welcoming environment for next-generation leaders to help foster superior leadership skills.
YEO is proud to announce that Garet Bishop, Alex Garoutte and Kalen Frese have joined the board of directors.
Garet Bishop
Bishop, who serves as chief financial officer for family-owned BFS Cos. in Morgantown, W.Va. The chain operates 63 convenience stores and eight liquor stores in four states: West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Bishop recently returned to the c-store industry after completing his M.B.A. at Harvard University.
Alex Garoutte
Garoutte has been the marketing director for The Kent Cos. Inc., for three years, where he is responsible for the merchandising and buying for approximately 45 Kent Kwik locations. He leads a team of people as well as the Kent Distribution Center. Garoutte received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from Arizona State University, where he earned four varsity letters for football.
“It is a great honor to be selected to join the YEO board for the National Advisory Group,” Garoutte said. “It has proven to be a great organization in which we have brought back many ideas to help drive our business forward.”
Kalen Frese
Frese is the food service director of Warrenton Oil Co., which operates 35 FastLane convenience stores in Missouri. Kalen’s expertise is operations, customer relations and sales. In his current role, he oversees all c-store prepared food and is responsible for 13 FastLane Deli locations, a Dairy Queen and a 24-Hour Diner. Prior to Warrenton Oil Company in 2017, he served as Regional Sales Manager at Ronnoco Coffee.
Frese studied Business Management at the University of Missouri. He and his wife, Chelsea, have a two-year-old son, Woodson, and a little girl due in November.
Alli Bixler, of The Kent Cos.; and Dana Moloney, of Warrenton Oil Co.; have rotated off the board following two year terms. Jared Sturtevant, the former Board Chairman of CST Brands, rotated off the board earlier this year when he aged out of the organization.
“With our evolving competitive landscape and the introduction of disruptive technologies, engaging fresh ideas from our young leaders will remain a key to the industry’s future growth,” said YEO Chairman Bart Stransky, of RaceTrac Petroleum. “I am excited to welcome our new board members and I’d like to take this opportunity to also thank Dana, Alli, and Jared for their commitment in expanding the impact of YEO during their tenure on the board.”
The full Eight-Member YEO Board of Directors for 2018/2019 includes:
* Bart Stransky, RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. (Board Chairman)
* Garet Bishop, BFS Cos.
* Kalen Frese, Warrenton Oil Co.
* Alex Garoutte, The Kent Cos.
* Sharif Jamal, Chestnut Petroleum
* Lindsay Lyden, Truenorth Energy
* Jeremie Myhren, Road Ranger
* Alex Olympidis, Family Express
“As the convenience store and petroleum industry continues to evolve, training the next generation leaders of tomorrow is more important than ever before,” said John Lofstock, Executive Director of (NAG). “YEO is an exclusive organization created to help young executives broaden their horizons in the competitive convenience store and petroleum industry. All of our new board members are experienced and dedicated to convenience retailing, which makes them a perfect fit for this growing group.”
ABOUT YEO
YEO was developed to represent the interests of young executives (40 years of age or younger) in the convenience store and petroleum, industry. Participation in YEO is available to young executives from NAG member companies, including those being groomed for senior positions within their companies.
YEO’s objectives include:
* Provide meaningful learning and networking opportunities within NAG and YEO.
* Provide an opportunity for NAG members to invest in their employees’ development as the next generation of industry executives.
* Increase the awareness of the activities of NAG member companies to young executives and next-generation leaders.
YEO provides a networking and mentoring environment for young executives in the convenience store industry to enhance and develop their executive skills so that they may grow into strong convenience store industry leaders. YEO acts as the voice and the resource for young executives for NAG member companies. YEO will provide members with a forum to express their views and recommendations on the industry to ensure its future growth and prosperity.
Membership in YEO provides next-generation leaders in the convenience store and petroleum industry with an opportunity to network with other young executives, NAG members and influential industry leaders. It also gives young leaders a platform to express their ideas, leadership abilities and vision for the future of convenience retailing.
NAG is an association driven by convenience store retailers for retailers. It is an organization committed to building profits and relationships for all of our members. NAG is aimed at small, midsize and family-owned convenience store chains and the executives that run them.
For information about NAG, YEO or our upcoming annual conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Sept. 9-12, visit www.nagconvenience.com, or contact NAG Executive Director John Lofstock at [email protected].
