LAVAL, Quebec --Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has a new CFO, fulfilling a series of top-level executive changes. Late yesterday, the convenience-store giant announced the appointment of Claude Tessier as its chief financial officer, effective Jan. 28, 2016.
Tessier’s arrival ends Couche-Tard’s search for a new CFO that began in mid-Oct. 2015 with the departure of Raymond Paré, who resigned after 13 years to pursue other interests and to spend more time with his family. Couche-Tard's president and CEO, Brian Hannasch, has been handling CFO duties.
Hannasch, previously chief operating officer, became president and CEO in late 2014 when co-founder and then-CEO Alain Bouchard stepped into the new role of chairman, succeeding co-founder Réal Plourde, to focus on acquisitions.
As reported in a McLane Co./CSP Daily News Flash, Tessier is a retail industry veteran and joins Couche-Tard from Canadian grocer Sobeys Inc., where he was president of the IGA operations business unit.
“Claude has deep experience in large retail businesses and understands the reality of lean, multi-site environments--including service station operations,” said Hannasch. “He has a proven track record as the head of finance of a large, complex business and has experience with financing, acquisitions and capital markets in publicly traded companies. Claude is the ideal candidate to help Couche-Tard continue its strong growth and to continue adding shareholder value with us.”
He continued, “Claude’s extensive and relevant experience, combined with his solid leadership skills, will be an excellent addition to our already strong team.”
At Sobeys, Tessier has been president of the IGA operations business unit since 2012. He joined IGA in 2003 as vice president of finance and strategic planning for Sobeys Québec. Prior to his position with IGA, Tessier served more than 15 years as senior financial leadership experience with Fly Furniture, Provigo and Costco, including in CFO and vice president roles. He has also held management positions in Mallette International and PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand).
“In addition to overseeing the financial, reporting and investor relations functions in Couche-Tard, I look forward to joining president and chief executive officer Brian Hannasch in evaluating opportunities for further expansion under the new, global Circle K brand,” Tessier said. “I am thrilled at this opportunity to play a part in Couche-Tard’s continuing strategic growth and reaching its goal to become the world’s preferred destination for convenience and fuel.”
Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard’s network includes 8,006 convenience stores--mostly under the Circle K, Kangaroo Express, Mac’s and Couche-Tard brands--throughout North America, including 6,579 stores offering road transportation fuel. Its North American network consists of 15 business units, including 11 in the United States covering 41 states and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces.
In Europe, through its 2012 acquisition of Statoil Fuel & Retail, Couche-Tard operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Poland, the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and Russia. It has 2,217 stores, most of which offer road transportation fuel and convenience-store products while the others are unmanned automated gas stations that offer road transportation fuel only. Couche-Tard operates key fuel terminals and fuel depots in six European countries.
Couche-Tard also recently acquired Dublin, Ireland-based Topaz Energy Group.
In addition, about independent operators run approximately 4,700 stores under the Circle K banner in China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Guam, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
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