Love's Travel Stops taps Hertz veteran as technology chief
A leading convenience store chain has added a technology leader from outside of the industry to its C-suite.
Love’s Travel Stops has named Tim Langley-Hawthorne as its new chief technology officer, effective immediately. In the role, he will report to Love’s president Shane Wharton, and be responsible for aligning technology with the company's overall strategy, driving product development, and fostering technical innovation, including the deployment of artificial intelligence.
Langley-Hawthorne has more than 30 years of experience in the technology sector. He joins Love’s from rental car giant Hertz, where he has served as chief information officer since November 2021. He previously spent time in technology leadership roles at Hitachi Vantara and Western Union, including as chief information officer at Hitachi Vantara for nearly two years.
“Innovation is one of Love’s core values and we know Tim is passionate about leveraging technology and fostering a culture of innovation that will play a role in advancing our strategic priorities,” said Wharton. “His three decades of experience will help us to stay ahead of industry trends and emerging technologies and position Love’s as a market innovator.”
The addition to the C-suite at Love’s comes as the chain is revamping its footprint of stores. In January, the company announced that it planned to start construction on 20 new stores this year and begin updating 50 existing locations under its Strategic Remodel Initiative (SRI), which launched in 2022. With new locations and SRI efforts this year, more than half of Love’s 655 locations will be newly constructed or remodeled by 2035.
[READ MORE: Love's to upgrade 50 stores, open 20 new locations in 2025]
"It is an honor to join Love’s as chief technology officer and deploy technology-enabled products to support our customers and employees,” said Langley-Hawthorne. “Love’s has a long history of innovation and focus on the customer. I’m thrilled to join the technology team and deliver on Love’s strategic growth and innovation goals by enhancing customer experiences.”
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Love’s operates more than 660 travel stop and convenience store locations across 42 states. The company employs nearly 40,000 workers.
