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Cover Story
40 Under 40
Dayna Reed, 38 Executive Director of Reporting and Insights
Nathan Richardson, 39 Vice President of Real Estate and Development
Company: RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. Headquarters: Atlanta, Ga. Number of Stores: 747 Years with the Company: 9
Company: Parker’s Headquarters: Savannah, Ga. Number of Stores: 54 Years with the Company: 1
As the executive director of reporting and insights for RaceTrac, Dayna Reed leads a team that aids the retail division in making strategic business decisions through data insights. “Our department has a market research arm that focuses on the consumer, competitors and industry and a business analysis arm that focuses on our sales, margin, pricing and financial metrics,” Reed said. Reed first began her career in consumer product sales after graduating with a marketing degree from Clemson University. “I sold consumer goods like apparel and beverages to retailers, calling on a variety of retail channels including mass, drug, grocery and convenience stores,” Reed said. After earning her MBA from the University of Georgia, she joined RaceTrac in 2009 as the company’s first brand manager. After six years in the marketing department she was tapped to lead the newly-formed Reporting and Insights Group in 2016. Looking toward to 2019, Reed’s team will focus on revenue management to help support category managers with pricing decisions, as well as using technology to be more consumer driven. “We are facing many issues as an industry, but the biggest is the blurring of channel lines and the changing definition of convenience in the consumer’s mind,” she said.
Nathan Richardson wants to build bridges, both figuratively and literally. As vice president of real estate and development at Parker’s, he has played a central role in the company’s five-year plan to expand across the Southeast. As a young executive, he wants to connect with customers—at all levels and ages. “The most challenging issue facing young executives today is the need to serve as a bridge between generations, connecting senior leadership with the younger, Millennial workforce,” he said. Since he joined Parker’s last year, Richardson has built a leadership capability that capitalizes on individual strengths. He mentors others, preferring his people to own their jobs and their decisions. Before joining Parker’s, Richardson served as the vice president of real estate for Bucky’s Convenience Stores. Richardson also has plans to help expand the company’s footprint beginning with Charleston, S.C. The company plans to open nine stores in the area next year and 11 more in 2020. With expansion, comes the challenge of finding high-quality employees. But with a good economy and plans for growth, Richardson is optimistic. “This is the biggest expansion of our retail footprint to date,” Richardson said. “By any measure, 2019 is going to be a big year for Parker’s.”
42 Convenience Store Decisions December 2018
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Matt Roderick, 34 Senior Category Manager— Beer & Packaged Beverages Company: Enmarket Headquarters: Savannah, Ga. Number of Stores: 123 Years with the Company: 1
If you look at how Matt Roderick approaches his job, the challenge of maximizing the potential offered by the convenience channel is right up this professional’s alley. “I like the challenge of maximizing sales and profits in such a small space,” said Roderick, senior category manager for beer and packaged beverages for Enmarket. “I feel the small format lets us connect better to our customers than a large grocery or bigbox retailer can. Our best stores know their customers by name, and I like that type of connection and interaction in our industry.” While motivated to sell as many units as possible, Roderick focuses on customers’ preferences, including those of Millennials. “Trying to resonate with them and get them into our stores more regularly will be a challenge we’ll need to conquer to be successful in the coming years,” he said. To this end, Roderick, who worked for Anheuser-Busch and Kum & Go before coming to Enmarket, believes young executives can bring unconventional ideas to the table that will help grow the industry. “Not every new idea will be a homerun, but I believe you’ll gain a lot more than you’ll lose in the long run,” Roderick said.
cstoredecisions.com
11/20/18 7:10 AM