LAS VEGAS, 2015-10-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) announced the election of four retail members to serve on its Board of Directors. The new members were named to their positions during the NACS Board of Directors meeting at the NACS Show in Las Vegas.
The four NACS retail members elected to serve on the Board of Directors are:
• Lisa Dell’Alba, president and CEO of Square One Markets (Bethlehem, PA)
• Dee Dhaliwal, president of Dhaliwal & Associates (Pleasanton, CA)
• Bill Kent, president and CEO, The Kent Companies dba Kent Kwik Convenience Stores (Midland, TX)
• Victor Paterno, CEO of Philippine Seven Corp. dba 7-Eleven Convenience Store (Mandaluyong, Philippines)
A member-driven organization, NACS is led by a 30-member Board of Directors, which includes three retailers from non-North American countries. In addition, the chairman and chairman-elect of the NACS Supplier Board also serve on the Board of Directors.
Following are brief biographies of the new NACS Board members:
Lisa Dell’Alba
Founded in 1971, Square One Markets Inc. operates nine stores across five counties in Pennsylvania, and also owns and operates a fuel wholesale business, Keystone Fuels. Dell’Alba began her career in the family’s business as manager of the company’s flagship location. She then served a variety of roles before becoming human resources director and later vice president of operations. She was named president of Square One Markets in 2009, and is also the president of Keystone Fuels. Dell’Alba earned a B.A. in dance and psychology from De Sales University. Dell’Alba and her husband have one son.
Dee Dhaliwal
Dhaliwal & Associates owns and operates a small chain of four convenience stores with gas and car washes, currently branded with Chevron fuel and Extra Mile stores. Additionally, the family-owned company also operates several hotels, quick-service restaurants and a small classic car dealership. Dhaliwal has been in the convenience store industry for nearly 30 years. He has worked continuously in the family business, taking over as vice president in 1995. He serves on the Boards of several organizations, the California Independent Oil Marketers Association (CIOMA), the Pacific Oil Conference (POC) and the American Petroleum and Convenience Association (APCA), of which he is also a founding member. He is also a past president of the California Service Station and Auto Repair Association (CSSARA).
Dhaliwal graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in communications. He and his wife have three children.
Bill Kent
Kent Oil and Kent Distributors Inc. were founded in 1957 by E. L. “Buck” Kent, and today operates more than 80 retail facilities, including 40 Kent Kwik convenience stores and travel stops, Huddle House restaurants, Rustic Cafe, Baskin-Robbins, Avis Lube fast oil change centers and Mr. Payroll check-cashing. Kent joined the family business in January 1980. In 1984, he acquired 100% of Kent Oil Inc. and Kent Distributors Inc. from family through a leveraged buyout. Since then, the companies have grown from 75 employees to over 1,100 team members. He is the current president of the Chevron Texaco Petroleum Marketers Association (CTPMA) and a member of the Chevron East Marketer Council. Kent received his B.S. in general business administration from Arizona State University. He and his wife, Julie, have three children.
Victor Paterno
Philippine Seven Corporation holds the license to operate 7-Eleven convenience stores in the Philippines. It opened its first store in 1984, and went public in 1998. In 2001, President Chain Store, 7-Eleven licensee of Taiwan acquired a majority stake. Paterno, an engineer, joined the company at his father’s (the chairman) invitation as construction and maintenance manager in 1993. The assignment was supposed to be temporary, but finding challenge in the hidden complexities of retailing, he stayed on longer than planned. He was appointed president and CEO in 2005 by majority shareholders President Chain Store of Taiwan. The company currently has 1,500 stores and intends to maintain a 25% store footprint growth trajectory over the next 10 years. Paterno and his wife, Melissa Balinghasay, have two children.
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Founded in 1961 as the National Association of Convenience Stores, NACS (nacsonline.com) is the international association for convenience and fuel retailing. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 152,700 stores across the country, posted $696.1 billion in total sales in 2014, of which $482.6 billion were motor fuels sales. NACS has 2,100 retail and 1,600 supplier member companies, which do business in nearly 50 countries.