Jonathan Polonsky
Jonathan Polonsky, CEO
Plaid Pantry
Jonathan Polonsky is the current Chairman and CEO of Plaid Pantry, a regional convenience store company headquartered in Portland, OR. Plaid Pantry owns and operates 107 stores in Oregon and Washington. Mr. Polonsky joined Plaid Pantry in July 2012 as COO, was promoted to President in 2016 and to CEO in 2018. Prior to his experience at Plaid, Mr. Polonsky spent 12 years with a NW packaging distributer as a sales executive. His other career experience includes 7 years as an executive with May Company Department Stores and 4 years as a co-owner of a regional retail store safety & sanitation distribution company. Mr. Polonsky has a Bachelor Degree from the University of Washington.
Outside of work, Mr. Polonsky enjoys spending time outdoors across the Pacific Northwest, cycling, playing handball, and exploring hard to get to locations courtesy of his private pilot’s license. Mr. Polonsky lives in Portland, OR with his wife, Jessica.
Jonathan Polonsky
Jonathan Polonsky, CEO
Plaid Pantry
Jonathan Polonsky is the current Chairman and CEO of Plaid Pantry, a regional convenience store company headquartered in Portland, OR. Plaid Pantry owns and operates 107 stores in Oregon and Washington. Mr. Polonsky joined Plaid Pantry in July 2012 as COO, was promoted to President in 2016 and to CEO in 2018. Prior to his experience at Plaid, Mr. Polonsky spent 12 years with a NW packaging distributer as a sales executive. His other career experience includes 7 years as an executive with May Company Department Stores and 4 years as a co-owner of a regional retail store safety & sanitation distribution company. Mr. Polonsky has a Bachelor Degree from the University of Washington.
Outside of work, Mr. Polonsky enjoys spending time outdoors across the Pacific Northwest, cycling, playing handball, and exploring hard to get to locations courtesy of his private pilot’s license. Mr. Polonsky lives in Portland, OR with his wife, Jessica.
Francisco Pineda
Francisco Pineda, COO and EVP for Business and Operations
The New School
Francisco X. Pineda is a faculty member at Columbia University and Executive Vice President (Deputy Commissioner) at the New York City Economic Development Corporation where he oversees NYC's largest real estate (60 million square feet) and waterfront ports portfolio as well as the largest urban de-carbonization program in the USA. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (UK) and his research and professional interests lie in organizational intelligence, critical capabilities, and the structuring and management of complex project-based teams and enterprises.
In his twenty-year career, he has worked on all aspects of the development cycle—investment, development, and construction. He has led and turned around property development companies and construction projects, as well as businesses in hospitality, building materials, energy and more recently in climate-tech focused on waste valorization in Mexico.
His early career included corporate strategy roles at Hess as well as investment banking and private equity at Merrill Lynch. He was also engaged to lead one of the Middle East’s largest corporate recovery initiatives working alongside Shearman & Sterling and Moelis & Co. on restructuring a $1.6 billion real estate portfolio.
He holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School, an MPA in Applied Economics from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in History. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Urban Systems at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering advancing his research on Sustainable Regional Systems and the intersection of finance, technology, and governance and has completed advanced courses at the US Naval War College in Newport, RI.
In 2018, he was selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar by the Clinton‐GW Bush‐HW Bush‐LBJ Foundations and continues to serve as a US Navy (Reserves) supply and logistics officer attached to US Forces Korea in support of Joint Logistics and the UN and with previous operational tours to Africa in support of Global War on Terror Operations and Asia in support of large-scale war game exercises in the Pacific.
He has served on several boards, industry committees, and as a senior advisor:
- NYC Mayor Task Force, Assessment and Recommendations of NYC Contracting and Procurement Reform
- MTA, Member of the Major Construction Review Unit
- Biden Infrastructure Policy Committee 2020
- World Economic Forum, Infrastructure 4.0
- Urban Land Institute’s (ULI-NY) Program Steering Committee
- Cities4All Global Leaders Council (Ford Foundation, UN-United Cities & Local Government)
Selected Projects & Deal Experience
- New York MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) +$11 billion East Side Access Ops Readiness Review: Member of the MTA’s Major Construction Review Unit (MCRU)
- New York MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) ~$2 billion Penn Station Access Project: Appointed member of the MTA’s Major Construction Review Unit (MCRU)
- $4 billion Delta/La Guardia Airport Reconfiguration Plan (NYC) Advisor to General Superintendent on Field Training and Development
- $7 billion Columbia University Manhattanville Development (NYC) Advisor on Sub-contractor Diversity Procurement and Development, MWBE
- $1.6 billion Restructuring of Sovereign Wealth Fund Real Estate and Construction Portfolio SVP Investment and Development and Executive Restructuring Committee (Infra, Hospitality, F&B, and Luxury Resi Assets)
Nick Peters
Nick Peters, VP - IT
Campbell Oil Company
I am an IT professional with over 20 years experience in the convenience retail field. Starting off my career in operations, I then converted over to the IT side of the industry over 15 years ago.
As a strong believer in technology, I have always been forward-thinking as it comes to the application and practicality of new capabilities. I’m also a supporter of industry collaboration and standardization in an effort to assist with the adoption of new technologies.
Nick Peters
Nick Peters, VP - IT
Campbell Oil Company
I am an IT professional with over 20 years experience in the convenience retail field. Starting off my career in operations, I then converted over to the IT side of the industry over 15 years ago.
As a strong believer in technology, I have always been forward-thinking as it comes to the application and practicality of new capabilities. I’m also a supporter of industry collaboration and standardization in an effort to assist with the adoption of new technologies.
Matt Pereira
Matt Pereira, CEO & Co-Founder
Seurat Analytics
Matt Pereira entered the convenience store category after 20+ years in marketing, advertising, big tech, and data science. To Matt, the consumer behavior and retail analytics problems in the convenience category are some of the most fascinating in business – that’s what inspired him to make the leap. He co-founded Seurat Analytics with Laura Simon on a shared conviction: consumer habits can and do shift, but the hard part is proving which moves actually triggered it.
Matt's turn to entrepreneurship follows a long run of intrapreneurial wins inside large companies.
At Procter & Gamble, leading North America MMM Strategy & Scale, he set common analytical standards across 88 brands spending over $1B in media, so teams stopped competing against each other for the same audiences. He pushed those teams toward long-term ROI and away from cheap media that reads well one quarter and badly the next. As a Brand Manager, he pioneered new methods for identifying how consumers navigate the tradeoff between appealing product benefits and unappealing prices.
At WebMD, he assembled cross-functional teams and brought rigorous data science to bear to create the world's first geo-symptom-targeted media product. The ad unit, triggered by rising cold and flu incidence in a specific geography, became the highest revenue generator in company history, sponsored by brands like Lysol and Kleenex, of course!
At Google, Matt led a global Insights & Analytics team working with the company's largest food and beverage advertisers, including Mars, Mondelez, and PepsiCo. He inspired his clients earned sufficient trust to co-create new go-to-market ad strategies, including the first campaigns to use dynamic ad personalization. These used Google's identity signals to customize creative in a privacy-safe way and delivered 10%+ sales lift on normally low-consideration CPG products. He went on to build a cross-Google Ad Personalization Center of Excellence to guide the adoption of these methods across 40 brands and $50M of media investment across industry verticals.
He brings the same spirit of innovation to Seurat Analytics, applying causal impact analysis to help mid-market operators in convenience, QSR, car wash, and EV charging see which of their own strategic moves actually worked.
Matt is a member of Conexxus and active in NACS. He holds a BA from Harvard and an analytics degree from NYU, speaks Mandarin, and lives in the New York area. Reach him at mattp@seuratanalytics.com.
Deb Peck Kelleher
Deb Peck Kelleher, Deputy Director
Alliance for Clean Energy NY
Deb Peck Kelleher is excited to be working on clean energy policy after over 20 years with the New York State Legislature, with 10 of those years as the Committee Director for the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, and the Senate Investigation and Government Operations Committee. She has worked on the net- metering law, the electric vehicles tax credit, and the reorganization of the Long Island Power Authority. She has extensive experience in New York State environmental policy and worked closely on expanding the Environmental Protection Fund, the drafting and passage of the State’s Brownfield Program, the Community Preservation Act, the Invasive Species Council, the phase out of MTBE from gasoline, and the protection of Long Island’s sole source aquifer. She was also the Director of the Senate Education Committee, Alcoholism and Addiction Committee, and the Infrastructure Committee.
She leads ACE NYs energy efficiency, transportation electrification work. Deb holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a focus on environmental economics and a B.A. in economics from LeMoyne College.
JP Patel
JP Patel. CEO
Hari 1 dba Fish River Food Mart
In 2000, the year of clunky Nokia phones and $1.50 gas, a guileless 18-year-old Jigar “JP” Patel left the comforts of his home in India to make a name for himself in America. Even at that young age, it was clear to those around him that JP had that certain spark that drew people to him.
He soon earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Sciences from the University of South Alabama. While in school, he worked a number of odd jobs until he discovered he had a knack for innovative ideas that increased volume and profits for his bosses in their respective stores. He joined the family business of convenience stores and worked from the ground up. With his combined business acumen and tendency to devote himself in his work, he wasn’t cleaning restrooms and manning the register for long!
Fast-forward to 2015, JP is now the co-founder and VP of SAASOA (Strategic Alliance of Affiliated Store Owners of America), the largest such association in the entire Southeast. In the last 7 years, SAASOA has successfully represented approximately 4500 stores owners. JP continues to be instrumental in increasing bottom line profits, partnering with other organizations to increase merchandise and volume and expanding SAASOA’s reach across the Southeast.
JP is also a recognized public speaker and specializes in leadership training and coaching and has successfully served a range of clients including corporate professionals, small business owners, and non-profit and for-profit organizations.
His drive to increase representation among minorities in the convenience store industry led to his association with NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores).
At NACS, JP is a member of Board of Directors and also a part of Member Services Committee, Political Engagement Committee and Legislative Committee.
His magic touch is not limited to the business world. He mentors under represented teenagers and young adults in choosing the path best suited for them. He is a recognized advocate of service and mental health initiatives through The Art of Living. He is a unifying member of the community, bringing together people from all religions, ethnicities, ages and genders to participate in personal health workshops.
As seen through his business drive and his giving nature, JP is truly one of the rare individuals who is sincerely passionate about helping and bringing people together from all walks of life.
Greg Parker
Greg Parker, Executive Chairman
Parker’s
Greg Parker, the founder and CEO of Parker’s and Parker’s Kitchen, opened his first convenience store in Midway, Ga. in 1976. Today, he leads a nationally acclaimed company that was named the 2020 Convenience Store Chain of the Year and is widely known for high-quality foodservice, the cleanest stores in the industry and cutting-edge technology. Inducted into the Convenience Store Hall of Fame, Parker has been recognized as the Foodservice Leader of the Year, Tech Executive of the Year, Citizen of the Year, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and Savannah Morning News Entrepreneur of the Year and Georgia Trend Legacy Leader.
A steadfast advocate of giving back to the community, Parker has donated more than $30 million to charitable causes across coastal Georgia and South Carolina and received the 2022 Georgia Southern University Parker College of Business Corporate Partner Award. Parker is a longtime member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and is active in the Petroleum Marketers Study Group. He previously served as the Vice Chairman of Research for the National Association of Convenience Stores, Chairman of the BPAmoco Marketers Association and a member of the Pepsi Retail Advisory Council as well as the Coca-Cola Retail Advisory Committee.
Parker currently serves on the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) board and previously chaired the Mayor’s Business Roundtable and the Keep Savannah Clean anti-litter campaign. He is the proud father of Olivia, Bennett and Lily Parker.
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