Stan Sheetz

Popular culture surrounding convenience stores has been less than savory. But perceptions have been changing, led to a great extent by Stan Sheetz. President and CEO since 1995 of the company that bears his family name, Sheetz has been at the forefront of evolving merchandise and technology offerings, centered mainly on touchscreen order-point terminals for expanded foodservice and coffee options and nofee ATMs for the “road warrior” core customer the 340-unit chain targets. But the real differentiator between the $3.9 billion enterprise and its c-store competitors is the corporate culture Sheetz, 52, has cultivated. Though the company is family-run, each worker with more than one year’s service is enrolled, at no cost, in an employee stock-ownership plan. The chain also distributes quarterly bonuses and all expense-paid trips to employees celebrating milestone anniversaries. So it’s not surprising that Sheetz has been honored for six straight years as one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania. It won similar honors in Ohio.