Casey’s shareholders voted against a proposal to mandate the chairperson of the convenience-store chain's board to come from outside the company. The rejection of the proposal secures Casey's President and CEO Darren Rebelez as chairman.
- Casey’s General Stores is No. 3 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Matt Prescott, president of investor company The Accountability Board, made the proposal during the annual shareholder meeting on Aug. 28. If approved, it would have required Rebelez to vacate his position as chairman.
Rebelez was named CSP’s 2024 Retail Leader of the Year
Prescott noted that the board focuses on the positives while leaving out how Casey’s has struggled since Rebelez’s appointment as chairman.
He said the board notes that Casey’s has exceeded $1 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the first time in the company’s history, recorded strong growth in food and dispensed beverages, added 150 stores and entered its 17th state since Rebelez was appointed.
However, Prescott said the board fails to note that 2024 EBITDA growth was actually lower than it was the year before the chair was given to the CEO. EBITDA in 2023 grew 18% over 2022, but in 2024, EBITDA growth fell to 11.1% from 2018, according to Prescott.
He stated that the board also fails to note that the company’s total revenue in 2024 fell by more than $231.5 million over the year before the CEO and chair positions were combined.
“This could fix a self-policing government structure that we currently have," said Prescott.
The proposal, which was voted on during the meeting, did not pass. The number of votes was not disclosed in the meeting.
All board members were also approved via voting during the meeting, 11 of which are independent, except Rebelez.
Casey’s General Stores operates more than 2,650 convenience stores in the greater Midwest under the Casey’s and goodstop brands and in Texas under the Lone Star brand. The company is the third-largest convenience-store retailer, the fourth-largest holder of liquor licenses and the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States. In late July, Casey’s also agreed to acquire Temple, Texas-based Fikes Wholesale Inc., owner of 198 CEFCO Convenience Stores, in an all-cash transaction for $1.145 billion.
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