Couche-Tard CEO to retire; successor named
The chief executive of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is stepping down after 25 years with the company.
The convenience-store giant said that president and CEO Brian Hannasch is retiring. He will be succeeded by Alex Miller, COO, effective Sept. 6. Hannasch, who has served as CEO for 10 years, will remain as a special advisor to Miller and Alain Bouchard, founder and executive chairman of Couche-Tard's board.
"Couche-Tard has only had two CEOs during its almost 45-year history, and we take this appointment extremely seriously,” said Bouchard. “The board and I have been planning for an orderly and seamless succession for several years, and we have carefully assessed the process and possible candidates. It is important to us that our next CEO comes from within the business and fully embraces our values, culture and growth-oriented mindset. For those reasons, we have the utmost confidence that Alex is the best person to be our next president and CEO."
Miller, who has served as Couche-Tard’s COO for the past year and a half, has spent nearly 13 years with the company in total. He previously served as its executive VP of North America operations and senior VP of commercial optimization, leading its global fuel and real estate businesses.
"Working with Couche-Tard has been the highlight of my career," said Miller. "I firmly believe that we are just at the beginning of our journey to become the world's preferred destination for convenience and mobility, and I have full faith that with our engaged people and culture and long-term strategic plan, we will continue our incredible growth trajectory as we take market share and create lasting value."
Headquartered in Quebec, Alimentation Couche-Tard operates in 29 countries and territories, with more than 16,700 stores under the Couche-Tard and Circle K banners, of which almost 13,100 offer road transportation fuel.