Mike Weber
Mike Weber
Upshop, CMO
Mike Weber has spent much of his career rooted in the retail experience, beginning with retail design and shopper strategy for mass merchandisers, grocers and c-stores. He transitioned from retail strategy to branding, leading strategy for leading organizations such as SAP, Microsoft, Aramco and GSK across London and NYC. After building and exiting a boutique design agency, Weber re-entered retail via technology to lead Upshop's marketing, partnership and thought leadership.
Thomas Valeri
Thomas Valeri, SVP, IT
Majors Management
As SVP of IT, I bring 15 years of experience in the convenience store, fuel, and petroleum technology sector. My multidisciplinary background spans critical business functions including information technology, accounting, operations, and analytics.
Throughout my career, I have focused on leveraging technology solutions to drive business value across the convenience store ecosystem. My unique combination of technical expertise and broad business acumen enables me to bridge the gap between IT capabilities and operational needs, delivering solutions that enhance both efficiency and profitability.
Cheryl Szczesniak
Cheryl Szczesniak, EVP Human Resources
The Spinx Company
Cheryl Szczesniak is the Executive Vice President of Human Resources with the Spinx Company. Cheryl has spent over 25 years in the Retail Industry, half of those in the convenience store industry. She has held various management positions in Accounting, Finance Management,
and Technology. In her current role, she is responsible for talent acquisition and development for over 1600 team members, along with employee relations, Human Resource Information Systems, and internal communication.
Before joining The Spinx Company in 2005, she was Manager of Store Accounting for Wawa in Pennsylvania.
Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Widener University in Pennsylvania, and a master’s in science degree in Human Resources from Villanova University. In addition, she holds a SHRM-CP certification.
She resides with her husband in Greenville and has two children and two stepchildren.
Rick Sales
Rick Sales, President
Abierto
With over 20 years of experience in the convenience store and convenience foodservice retail industries, Rick is a seasoned leader and innovator in on-premise digital engagement solutions. As the president of Abierto Networks, he is passionate about integrating cutting edge technology to address common industry issues and designing the store of the future. A pioneer in experiential marketing and digital communication, Rick and his team recently delivered transparent LED displays (OPEN.LED) that are redefining forecourt engagement. His mission is to help retailers evolve their thinking around engagement, resulting in increased sales and revisits, improved employee satisfaction and retention, and the growth of strong brands that foster loyal fans.
On a personal note, Rick loves to play golf (despite his admitted lack of skill) and practices the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Do.
Patrick Raycroft
Patrick Raycroft, Partner
W. Capra
Patrick leads W. Capra’s Convenience & Energy Retailing consulting practice as well as its Digital Technology services. Patrick and W. Capra are passionate about driving positive change in CER through innovative thinking, strong industry collaboration, and effective delivery of new initiatives. While he spends most of his time in CER, Patrick also frequently consults with merchants in adjacent verticals (QSR, high-volume retail, transportation, to name a few), which allows him to transfer best practices from those verticals into his CER consulting. In his free time, Patrick enjoys time spent outdoors, visiting more US national parks, and commiserating over the fortunes of his Chicago and Notre Dame sports teams.
Skip Potter
Skip Potter, Director of IT
R.L. Vallee, Inc.
Skip Potter has been in the convenience Store Industry for 30 years. Over that 30 year period, he has seen lots of changes in the industry.
For the last 24 years, Skip has been working in various roles for R.L. Vallee, Inc. In 2019, Skip was named in the top 20 forward thinkers by CSP Magazine. As the Director of Technology for Maplefields he continues to push the company and industry forward with new technologies and fostering solid industry partners.
Skip Potter was a member of CTVG in 2024.
Sorin Hilgen
Sorin Hilgen, Group CDO and In-country CIO
EG Group
Sorin is the Group CDO and In-country CIO for EG Group, responsible for all technology related areas of EG America and the Digital Platform for EG Group. He has been in the Retail industry for 15 years holding various IT leadership roles with Cumberland Farms and Gulf Oil. Prior to that, Sorin was part of the IT team at a leading Commodity Trading firm leading portions of the global IT strategy.
Jeffry Harrison
Jeffry Harrison, Co-Founder & President
Rovertown
Jeffry first discovered his passion for entrepreneurship at a young age selling crafts at his father's dental office. While studying for a dual major in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the SIUE School of Business, Jeffry co-founded Rovertown. Rovertown is the convenience store industry's leading app platform powering apps for over 70 c-store retailers. Rovertown is agnostic and can integrate any loyalty, mobile ordering, mobile pay, car wash, etc. technology provider into your own branded mobile app.
Jeffry enjoys spending time with his wife and three children in Michigan and has a passion for music, golf, and bourbon.
Nick Franco
Nick Franco, SVP Sales and Customer Success
ThinkSys Inc.
Accomplished executive business and technology leader. Over 20 years experience driving revenue in the multi-site C-store, retail, and restaurant industries. Proven track record of building C-level and partner relationships, developing channel programs, and leading enterprise sales.
Experienced in custom software development, AI, networking, network security, cybers security, PCI compliance, IoT, edge computing, multi-site retail technology and operations.