Convenience-store retailer Wawa has hired a new chief operating officer, Justin Tichy, according to a LinkedIn post.
“I’m thrilled to announce that I’m starting a new position as chief operating officer at Wawa Inc.," Tichy said in the post. “It's such an honor to join an amazing team with an iconic brand and a passionate customer following!”
Tichy has been chief operating officer at Petco since 2018. Before that, he was president of sales at insurance distribution company Confie and vice president of retail sales, among other roles, at electronics retailer Best Buy and affiliated companies.
Wawa did not respond immediately to a CSP request for comment.
Other recent leadership changes include the hiring in March of Nelson Griffin as chief supply chain officer, according to LinkedIn, and in April of David Hammer as chief financial officer, according to LinkedIn.
- Wawa is No. 9 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by total number of company-owned stores.
The leadership changes come as Wawa has announced several new store locations. On the heels of opening its first convenience store in North Carolina in mid-May, Wawa held three groundbreaking events in June in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. Wawa expects to open 10 new c-stores in North Carolina this year, about 40 new c-stores in North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana in 2025 and as many as 250 c-stores within the next five to 10 years in the states.
Wawa Inc., based in Wawa, Pennsylvania, traces its origins back to 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, Pennsylvania in 1902. The milk business was a success, and as home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Pennsylvania as an outlet for dairy products. Wawa stores are now located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama and Washington, D.C., with approximately 1,050 locations
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