NACS State of the Industry Summit

Andrew joined Wawa in January 2016 and has held roles focused on identifying savings opportunities and driving greater efficiency, increasing productivity in Wawa’s stores, and developing Wawa’s long term corporate strategy. Most recently, Andrew led Wawa’s Consumer Insights & Strategy team, with responsibility for studying consumer behavior through research and customer data analytics. Andrew transitioned into a new role in July 2025 with P&L ownership of Wawa’s Fresh Beverage categories, including hot coffee, self-serve cold dispensed beverages, and full-serve beverages (smoothies, espresso drinks, etc.).

Prior to joining Wawa, Andrew worked as a management consultant at Bain and Company in Chicago, where he focused his time across multiple industries, including foodservice and retail. Andrew earned an MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his bachelor’s degree from Wharton as well. In his free time, Andrew enjoys exploring Philadelphia with his wife and three children, and playing tennis and ultimate frisbee.

After years at Stanford and Google, Tucker Bryant uncovered a surprising truth: the skills that fuel world-class innovation aren’t confined to the boardroom—they’re also found in the mindset of a poet.

Tucker Bryant worked at Google as a Product Marketing Manager, where he focused on building go-to-market strategies for some of the company’s major products. His work involved helping launch and position tools for businesses, contributing to cross-functional leadership, and driving innovation initiatives—skills that now inform his insights on creativity, communication, and leadership in the corporate world.

Once a teenager who thought poetry and business had nothing in common, Tucker came to realize that the creative practices he once set aside were the very tools that helped him thrive in Silicon Valley. Today, as a nationally recognized poet and speaker, he bridges the gap between creativity and corporate strategy, helping leaders embrace discomfort, challenge assumptions, and unlock bold, transformative ideas. Tucker equips audiences with a powerful, poetic posture that drives innovation—and he’s ready to help audiences write what's next.

Denton has been with OPIS since 2001 and serves as the Chief Oil Analyst, responsible for the day to day operations of OPIS’ news and analysis division. In his role, Denton also provides big picture views to OPIS subscribers on a variety of topics from supply and demand trends to anticipating price moves in the futures, spot and retail markets in North America.

During his time at OPIS, Denton has covered a variety of markets from Natural Gas Liquids to U.S. refined spot markets. Before becoming the Chief Oil Analyst, Denton was leading the OPIS refined spots team.

He has been widely quoted and interviewed as an expert forecasting the price of oil and retail gasoline and diesel explaining what moves can mean for the consumer as well as the industry as a whole. Denton is a frequent contributor for major media outlets such as Fox Business, CNBC, MSNBC and CBS News.

Denton is a graduate of Rutgers University and football letter winner.

Founded by NACS in 2013, the Transportation Energy Institute is a non-profit that evaluates market issues related to vehicles and the energy that powers them. The Institute, led by a diverse Board of transportation experts, is an objective and collaborative research organization that does not advocate.

Previously, Eichberger served more than 14 years at NACS representing the convenience and fuel retailing industry before the media and federal government.

With more than 20 years of related experience, Eichberger is a recognized expert on the transportation energy market.

Annie Gauthier is the Co-CEO at St. Romain Oil Company in Mansura, Louisiana. She is responsible for the company's finance and accounting, risk management, HR and strategic and culture development. A third-generation co-owner, she works with her 2 brothers, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, and 240 other team members to refuel & refresh the Louisiana communities where they operate.

She earned her BA in British history at LSU, discovered that law school was not for her and worked for the Louisiana Oil Marketers & Convenience Store Association (LOMCSA) for 3 years before joining the family business in 2005. She has served in various leadership roles with LOMCSA, culminating with President in 2017. Annie is also a founding member of Corporate Works of Mercy Foundation, a private 501(c)3 focused on loving neighbors by living the biblical corporal works of mercy. Her purpose is to chart tomorrow's course from yesterday's lessons. Married to her high school sweetheart and mother to 3 young children, she enjoys cooking, reading, traveling and planning trips (especially to Britain, Ireland and France).

Frank Gleeson became NACS president and CEO on January 1, 2026. He has deep experience in foodservice and convenience retailing. As president & CEO of Aramark Northern Europe from 2017–2024, he oversaw a team of over 20,000 employees across 2,800-plus locations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), which served an estimated 1 million meals a day. Before Aramark, Gleeson was retail director at Topaz Energy Group and vice president retail of Statoil Ireland (now Equinor), where he led the development of the first American-style convenience store in Ireland. Most recently, he served as chairman of the National Oil Reserve Agency in Ireland.

Gleeson was on the NACS Board of Directors for 11 years, including his term as 2018-19 NACS Chairman. In addition, he was a board member and chairman of Retail Ireland, a board member and president of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation and a board member of the Irish Transport Authority.

Jeff Hassman serves as General Manager of AI Solutions driving PDIQ and other AI‑powered innovations that help customers achieve stronger business results. He brings 30 years of experience across the retail and financial services industries, including senior leadership roles as Chief Marketing Officer at Excentus and Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase, where he oversaw large‑scale customer engagement and loyalty programs. Jeff holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from West Point and an MBA from Wharton.

Brittany Hodak is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and customer experience expert who helps businesses turn customers into superfans. Her SUPER Model™ framework has empowered thousands of organizations’ employees to transform customers’ apathy into advocacy.

When her debut book, Creating Superfans, was released, Forbes declared: “If you have customers, you need this book. Period.” A recognized authority on customer experience, Brittany has authored more than 350 articles for top media outlets, including Success, Adweek, and Inc.

As an entrepreneur, Brittany founded and scaled an entertainment agency to eight figures, collaborating with global icons including KISS, Taylor Swift, and Dolly Parton. She created 250 unique collectibles, which collectively sold over 10 million copies worldwide and won dozens of awards. Her work even landed her on Shark Tank, where she received four investment offers.

Brittany’s agency clients included Walmart, Disney, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson, among other Fortune 100 brands. She was the first Chief Experience Officer at Experience.com and previously led marketing initiatives at Sony Music.

Brittany’s high-energy keynotes blend research-backed insights, compelling storytelling, and real-world applications to inspire attendees at every level of an organization to leverage customer experience as their ultimate competitive advantage.

Her deep pre-event customization and interactive delivery ensure that no two keynotes are alike—yet every one is memorable, actionable, and fun. That’s why organizations including American Express, Keller Williams, Mathnasium, PURE Insurance, and PrimeLending have invited her back to speak time and time again.

David Jackson is a seasoned leader in the convenience retail space, bringing over 20 years of experience at Kwik Trip, where he currently serves as Director of Digital Marketing and Loyalty. In this role, David has been instrumental in shaping the company’s digital strategy and elevating guest engagement across platforms. One of his most notable achievements is the successful launch of Kwik Rewards in 2018—Kwik Trip’s first-ever loyalty program. Under David’s leadership, the program has grown to over 5 million registered members, fundamentally transforming how the brand connects with its guests. David also led the development and rollout of a best-in-class mobile app, designed to deliver a seamless and intuitive user experience while integrating key loyalty features. His strategic oversight extends across a wide range of digital initiatives, including social media, digital advertising, and the company’s order-ahead program.

Erich has over 18 years of experience in strategy and insights consulting. He is the author of the U.S. Grocery Retailer Preference Index (the RPI), a key benchmark for Grocery Retailer Brand Equity since 2018. Erich regularly speaks at Industry Conferences and brings a Deep understanding of Shopper Behavior and Brand Strategy.

Chad Lusk is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group in Chicago. He specializes in large-scale organizational and commercial transformations across retail and consumer goods, with a focus on growth strategy, marketing, new product development, business model innovation and customer experience redesign.

Brandi Mauro combines her project management expertise with a passion for building meaningful relationships and creating opportunities for growth. She leads the development and execution of NACS education programs, including five Executive Education programs, the HR Forum, and the Food Safety Forum, and supports educational programming for the NACS Show. She oversees program design, production, and delivery, while cultivating strategic partnerships that enhance key events and create meaningful experiences for attendees.

In her free time, she enjoys family time with her husband, Chris, and their three active boys, Alex, Sam, and Teddy.

Charlie McIlvaine is the Chairman & CEO of Coen Markets, Inc., a diversified holding company. Together with his brother Andy, they manage Coen Markets (a convenience retail chain in the Tri-State region of Pittsburgh, PA) and Coen Tire (a retail tire platform). Charlie is also Managing Partner of Thomaston Capital, LLC, a private investment firm that invests in growth or later stage companies primarily in the consumer/retail sector.

Charlie was previously a member of Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in New York with $4 billion under management, where he focused on investments in the consumer sector. Prior to working in private equity, Charlie was Co-Global Group Head and Managing Director of the Global Consumer Group for Deutsche Bank. In this capacity, he had responsibility for managing a group of 50+ professionals across three global investment banking offices which generated revenues over $300 million. DB’s Global Consumer Group advised on mergers & acquisitions and raised debt and equity capital for clients in the food/beverage, household products/personal care, retail/restaurant and business services sectors. Previous to DB, Charlie was a senior member and Managing Director of J.P. Morgan’s Global Consumer Group in investment banking. While at J.P. Morgan, he executed financings and mergers and acquisitions for a wide range of consumer companies. He began his career as an investment banking analyst for Merrill Lynch based in New York and London.

Charlie holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, attended New College of Oxford University, and earned a BA in economics from Duke University.

Chris Rapanick is the managing director of research at NACS. Chris’ team produces, the NACS State of the Industry Report, The State of the Industry Summit, SOI Compensation Report, Convenience Voices Shopper Insights Program, the CSX Benchmarking Database and thought leadership whitepapers published by NACS.

Chris came to NACS from Coca-Cola Enterprises with a love of data and the convenience channel. In his 14-year career with NACS, he has dedicated himself to helping retailers make better decisions by using data analysis and suppliers “speak the retailers’ language” by understanding the details of their business model.

Chris started his career in retail managing grocery stores for a prominent retailer in the southeast. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.

Caitlin Root leads Datassential's Customer Experience team and has 15+ years of market research experience in both custom and syndicated research methodologies. For the last ten years she has partnered with food and beverage manufacturers, distributors, and foodservice operators to deliver impactful, data-driven insights about the foodservice landscape and consumer behaviors. She holds a master's degree in business management and bachelor's degree in business marketing.

Jessica Starnes serves as the Director of Loyalty and Tobacco Category Manager at Weigel's, where she oversees two of the most strategically critical areas of the business. In her role managing the tobacco category, Jessica leads with precision - navigating a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape while driving innovation in assortment, merchandising, and promotional funding strategies. Her expertise has been pivotal in repositioning the tobacco category to adapt to industry headwinds, including double-digit cigarette declines and the rise of illicit vapor sales.

Jessica has proactively leaned into Modern Oral Nicotine as a key growth driver - resting backbar space, increasing vendor collaboration, and establishing Weigel's as a regional leader in this emerging segment. Her ability to leverage loyalty-bases vendor funding and optimize mix has helped protect margins and increase units in a challenging category. Jessica's category leadership is matched by her accomplishments in loyalty, where she has built one of the most effective rewards programs in the convenience retail industry. Her cross-functional approach ensures loyalty and category management are aligned - boosting customer frequency, retention, and gross margin performance. A two-time Top Women in Convenience (TWIC) honoree, named 2025 Category Manager of the Year for Loyalty from CSP, and 2025 CSA Top Women Award for technology. She holds a Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP) designation, a NACS Category Management Certification, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee.

b. As a partner at NexChapter, a strategic advisory firm, Mike Templeton helps clients in the convenience ecosystem drive growth in the digital world. He joined the firm following a 15-year career in convenience retail. He was the head of digital at Casey’s, where he built, launched and led Casey’s loyalty program as well as its integrated order-ahead pizza business, which serves millions of consumers across the company’s footprint. Prior to Casey’s he worked at Kum & Go as its first social media manager, then later launching the company’s first-ever loyalty program and mobile app experience.

Marco has over 20 years of experience in large-scale transformation for food and non-food retailers. He is highly experienced in multiple topics such as category management, buying/procurement, own brands, pricing/promo, operations, organization, strategy, M&A, and digital. He also has significant project experience in food/FMCG, fashion, luxury, and travel.

Dr. Thomas Weinandy is the Principal Research Economist at Upside, where he studies consumer spending patterns and the broader forces shaping today’s economy. His work explores pricing, loyalty, and the future of brick-and-mortar retail in the digital age, with insights featured on CNBC, Yahoo Finance, NPR, and The Today Show. He wrote a book on using AI for business intelligence and has published in both economics and marketing journals. A frequent speaker at national conferences, Dr. Weinandy provides audiences with clear, data-driven perspectives on inflation, consumer behavior, and the challenges and opportunities facing retailers and suppliers alike.

Wilson is the Chief Operating Officer of Cubby’s Inc., a family-owned convenience and grocery chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Mike brings over two decades of leadership experience in the convenience retail industry, having held key roles at Holmes Oil/Cruizers, CEFCO Convenience Stores, The Pantry, and Populus Financial Group.

Since joining Cubby’s in 2021, Mike has been instrumental in evolving the company into a food-forward brand, focusing on operational excellence, strategic growth, and high-performing teams. A graduate of the University of Kansas, he blends Midwestern values with Southern roots and a passion for innovation.

Under his leadership, Cubby’s has expanded its foodservice programs—including the integration of Godfather’s Pizza and Chester’s Chicken—and deepened its commitment to employee engagement and customer experience across all locations.