SOVG ALLY SUPPORTERS
How AI Caught A Costly Invoice Mistake
Sultan, operator of four-store convenience chain FavTrip based in Kansas City, has spent the past several years testing where artificial intelligence can save him real time and money. The goal was never to adopt AI for its own sake, but to hand the technology the same operating rules a manager would give an employee.
At the start of his AI journey, he asked himself: “How can we save time, money, and energy as an operator?” One such area was with the weekly gas invoice reconciliation process, historically handled manually by an assistant who matched delivery invoices from his oil distributor against the company’s records for both stores. To automate this task, Sultan built an AI system, which he nicknamed Mary, to review each invoice, confirm it against the delivery record, mark it “billed,” and later confirm it “paid” once the corresponding draft cleared the account.
One day, Mary caught a costly mistake. In July 2026, an invoice for 7,387 gallons of 87-grade unleaded and 494 gallons of diesel, worth $25,381.40, was billed to FavTrip Grandview, but Mary could not match it to any delivery record for that store. The AI reached out to the supplier the same day the discrepancy appeared. The supplier confirmed a driver sheet error, the load had actually gone to FavTrip Red Bridge, and the charge was corrected before it became a write-off.
“Any time we save time, energy, and money to do something, we always have a list of things that we could be investing our time, energy, and money into, as well.”
Sultan walked through several other uses of AI at FavTrip, including point-of-sale exception reports that flag unusual shifts in sales, camera systems that detect an open cooler door, a growing register or drive-thru line, a missing wet floor sign, or trash left near the pumps. He also described how AI now drafts social media posts and creates signage, with staff approving the tone and offer before anything is published.
AI, he said, is a tool rather than a solution in itself. He cautioned that vague instructions produce vague results, comparing early prompts like “look at my invoices” to more effective, specific ones like “flag billed invoices without payment proof.” Like a microwave, he said AI “cannot make a recipe for you for a nice meal or dinner, the only thing it will do is warm up that nice meal that you planned and prepared.”.
Sultan offered “five things you can do on a Monday” as his closing advice. Start with a single ‘expensive’ workflow, draft the operating rules, feed the AI real examples, review the first ten outputs, and “don’t automate the store, automate one pain.” The larger purpose, he said, is to free up time. “It’s time to go, grow, and time to lead,” he said, adding that saved time should go toward vendor negotiations, staff training, and getting home for dinner with family.
You can watch the full video of Sultan’s presentation and view his presentation slides below.
In addition to running a first-class store, Babir Sultan is involved in various forms of media. He has published a book,
“Fuel for Success” and has a successful FavTrip You Tube channel with more than 120,000 followers and millions of views. You can learn more about Sultan on his website, babirsultan.com.
Building an AI Workflow the Right Way
Kicking off the discussion, Strasburger asked Sultan to walk through how an unfamiliar operator might get started with AI tools. Sultan recommended committing to a single platform rather than chasing every new release, noting that he now uses Claude almost exclusively. He said the real shift comes from moving past simple chat prompts with a free version and into tools like Claude Cowork, which can watch a screen once, learn a task, and repeat it going forward.
FavTrip built its trending-product system the same way, starting with narrow, geographically specific searches on social platforms, verifying results by hand, then gradually letting the AI handle posting and ordering. Prior to AI, it was a very manual word-of-mouth process of noting new product requests and getting them to the shelf.
Eva Strasburger, CEO of Compliance Safe, president of StrasGlobal, and VGN co-founder, asked whether AI-identified trending items integrate into formal planograms or simply get an “as seen on TikTok” display. Sultan said FavTrip’s cameras map customer traffic hotspots near store entrances, and trending products are placed on a dedicated shelf along that path rather than at the counter. FavTrip also partners with InStore.ai to review staff conversations for missed upsell opportunities, sending a weekly report that flags both training gaps and moments worth recognizing.
AI Adoption Journeys
“It doesn’t cost that much to go do this and as much as your brain can think about how you want to see something and how it will remove complexity of the operations for your team. That’s the dream.”
Several attendees described their own progress, some asking AI to flag trendy new products. For Steve McKinley, CEO and founder of Urban Value Corner Store, the push to use AI came from his adult son, who steered him toward tools like Codex. He now pulls data through his point-of-sale system’s open API to build exception reports and generate Power BI reports in hours rather than weeks. Chris Bambury, president of Bambury, Inc., is testing Claude to build internal agents for operations and HR questions and expects to pair it with Outlook for stronger email search. Michael Lipton, CEO of Lipton Inc, said he took a more cautious path, watching from the sidelines before adopting Claude more seriously and testing it inside Word and Excel, though he acknowledged that early automation projects sometimes take longer than expected. At Rmarts LLC, President Ryan Razowsky said his company has used AI-based fuel pricing software with mixed results and sees a clear opportunity to reduce his controller’s manual reconciliation workload as the company shifts from twelve stores to four.
Several members noted that legacy POS systems inhibit their access to data or present issues when trying to use AI for analysis, a problem that Roy Strasburger noted has surfaced many times in the Convenience Technology Vision Group (CTVG). Others also identified that AI helped them get past slow-moving vendors in order to create their own analysis and reports. Verifone’s VP of Strategy and Business Operations Tom Rebain said that the company waited to adopt AI so it could benefit from more mature tools, focusing its use on finance back-office work and carefully controlled coding assistance.
Strasburger asked how Sultan keeps up with the pace of AI development. Sultan said to “always start with the problem and then seek out the tool.” He also said he intentionally unsubscribed from AI news alerts, comparing the temptation to chase every new tool to the dog in the movie “Up” that gets distracted mid-sentence by a squirrel. He said lasting value comes from solving the mundane tasks staff already dislike, not from tracking every new release.
"Put [AI learning] on the schedule every day for 20 minutes or 15 minutes. Add it to your calendar, if you're calendar driven, start with 10 or 15 minutes, but be very strategic. My AI bot has my whole month scheduled out. Usually, it says in this session we're tackling this, so we're doing this. And if it's done, it's almost like an ongoing curriculum for me personally because I want to continue to improve. The classic Japanese [practice], I think it's called Kaizen, is small improvements. These small improvements will take you very far."
The Future of Invoice Handling
Robotics and Physical Automation
Sultan said FavTrip is in early conversations about robotic cooler stocking, pointing to recent demonstrations of robots handling objects like cups and reports of workers in Japan using remote virtual-reality controls to operate stocking robots. Eva Strasburger described a rooftop drone system called Flock Safety that tracks shoplifters to their vehicles and alerts police, offering it as a more practical alternative to the robotic guard dog Sultan had joked about wanting to catch thieves.
AI in Recruitment, Onboarding and Scheduling
Eva Strasburger turned to the topic of HR, asking whether FavTrip uses AI in hiring or scheduling. Sultan said FavTrip receives roughly 200 to 250 applications a month, and an AI agent now screens resumes, invites candidates to open interviews, and coordinates manager availability. He said trimming the online application from about a dozen screening questions to roughly half doubled the applicant pool. For scheduling, FavTrip posts shifts up to two months out, an approach Sultan credited to reading in the book “The Good Job Strategy”. He also uses the Home Base app, letting staff trade shifts directly, giving them more autonomy and lifting the burden from managers.
Building Staff Buy-In and Culture
Several members commented that it is important to have a strong culture of empowerment and buy-in with AI tools. Sultan said he approaches getting staff on board with AI tools by asking employees directly what they would like off their plate, adding that no one has complained about losing invoice reconciliation or trend research duties. Myra Kressner, CEO of Kressner Strategy Group, and VGN co-founder, turned the question to the group, asking whether other companies share that culture or face more resistance. McKinley said Urban Value’s culture centers on customer service and noted an internal chatbot trained on the employee handbook that now answers policy questions instantly. Bambury agreed that culture matters more than the specific technology, crediting NACS executive education at Cornell for reinforcing the value of involving frontline staff in decisions rather than presenting change as something done to them. Sultan also shared that his employees embrace the ability to discover AI tools to enhance and simplify their tasks and also like being heard and part of the process.
Final Reflection
The convenience retail industry is navigating a consumer landscape where the familiar metrics of foot traffic and revenue growth no longer tell the full story. Beneath the surface, a widening economic divide, persistent inflation, and shifting consumption habits driven by both financial stress and cultural forces like GLP-1 adoption are quietly reshaping what customers buy, how much they spend, and whether they walk through the door at all. Independent operators who move quickly, stay close to their customers, and entertain alternate merchandising models will be best positioned to capture opportunities.
Video Presentation
SOVG Meeting Presentation (PDF)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Clear, specific instructions matter more than the tool itself. Vague AI prompts produce vague results.
- Effective AI adoption does not require advanced technical skills or a large budget. Committing to a single platform and starting with narrow, specific tasks before expanding prove more effective than trying to automate everything at once.
- Point-of-sale data and store cameras already generate insights operators can act on, from sales exception reports to flagging an open cooler door or a missing wet floor sign.
- Detecting a trending product is only half the solution. Mapping customer traffic patterns helps determine where that product should be placed for it to actually sell.
- Legacy point-of-sale systems and handwritten paper invoices remain real obstacles to putting AI to work on financial reconciliation, though some back-office providers are now training AI to read those invoices directly. Creating rules with scanned invoices and AI can reduce that burden.
- Staff buy-in comes from communication, not mandate. Employees may embrace new AI tools more readily when asked what tasks they want removed from their plate as well as freedom to explore tools themselves, rather than simply told a system is being adopted.
- AI can meaningfully cut the time spent on hiring from simplifying the application process to screening resumes and coordinating interview availability.
Contact info@vgnsharing.com if you’d like the meeting transcript.
Notable and Quotable
“Sitting with your staff and listing out the 99 problems I used to call them [that] everybody has, AI is not one of them.”
“We need to start figuring out ways to use AI. And we’re also using AI in minor ways on the operations side, but there’s a big opportunity for us to hit the reset button and look at what we can do internally.”
“Either embrace it and learn it or be a shadow in someone’s rear view mirror.”
“We’re using Claude and we’re starting to use it quite a bit. I got to a point where I was sort of sitting on the sidelines just watching it all fly by me and everybody else using it and I wasn’t. So, in our peer group… a lot of people are starting to use it. And somebody [said]…‘hey you can do this, it’s easier than you think. It’s not quite as daunting as you might think.’ And so we’re using it a lot more. The problem I’m seeing now is that…trying to try to keep some tunnel vision to the shiny objects because it’s hard. This is evolving so quickly and we’re trying not to get distracted and stay on task.”
“What we keep hearing in a lot of our conversations is that AI is initially best in trying to get rid of the boring stuff, the manual repetitive work that that’s really a pain… that’s kind of the things that we’re talking about here.”
“It’s so much of the culture and it really doesn’t matter if it’s tech or anything, it’s all change. How does your culture address change, buy-in, and empowerment of your people that they get included in the decision-making process and often can give great input, because they’re closer to where the solution’s getting deployed. And, we sometimes forget about that up at higher levels deciding, but, we’ve seen from NACS executive education at Cornell to empower your people in a lot of different ways, and then when there’s bumps and problems, they’re in it with you, rather than feeling like it was forced on them.”
SOVG Members
Ben Burds, Managing Partner
Kunoco Food Mart
Ben Burds, Managing Partner of Kunoco Food Marts (a four store c-store chain in St. Lawrence County, NY). Our company also includes a fuel delivery business for wholesale and retail clients.
Rachel Eickert, Operator
The Corner Store
Rachel Eickert is a convenience store operator and entrepreneur from Southeastern Ohio. She operates The Corner Store, where she focuses on strong foodservice, excellent customer experience, and community connection. Rachel is passionate about the future of independent convenience retail and enjoys collaborating with other operators to share ideas and grow the industry
Steve Estepp, President
Estepp Energy|Estepp's
Steve Estepp grew up in the gas station business while working for his dad and has witnessed firsthand many of the changes that have occurred in the industry over the past 30 years. He attended the University of Richmond (Va.), where he received his undergraduate degree in Accounting in 1998. (Side note he worked weekends at a Shell service station there his freshman year.) While completing his degree, Steve worked part time his senior year for the public accounting firm KPMG and two more years after graduation, specializing in auditing. In 2000, Steve returned to the family business, during which time he obtained his MBA from the University of Kentucky with a concentration in accounting and finance. In 2010, Steve became 100% owner of Estepp's Friendly Shell and set the company on a path toward strategic growth and diversification. In 2012, Steve founded Estepp Energy which acquired an existing Shell wholesale distributor. Since then, Steve has grown both the retail and wholesale sides of the business. Estepp's Friendly Shell operates 11 convenience stores and is a franchise with Subway, Little Caesars, The UPS Store, and Hot Head Burritos. Estepp Energy supplies fuel to about 100 branded locations and operates its own fleet of trucks to transport the fuel.
Israel Getzel, VP of Operations
Gastrak Operators LLC
Israel Getzel is an accomplished operations executive with more than 30 years of experience leading businesses across convenience stores, fuel retail, hospitality, food service, catering, purchasing, accounting, and team management. He currently serves in senior operations leadership with Gastrak Operators / Malana Hotels, where he oversees multi-location operations, revenue growth, cost control, quality standards, safety procedures, vendor relationships, purchasing strategies, and financial performance across U.S. locations.
Known for his strong analytical judgment, negotiation skills, and relationship-focused leadership style, Israel has built a record of success in business development, contract negotiations, budgeting, sales and marketing initiatives, vendor evaluation, POS and back-office system implementation, and operational turnarounds. His background also includes executive and ownership roles in restaurant management, kosher catering, and food and beverage concessions, giving him a practical understanding of both corporate operations and customer-facing service environments.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Israel is recognized as an effective communicator who works well with diverse teams, vendors, and clients. He brings a proactive, solutions-oriented approach to improving processes, strengthening teams, controlling expenses, and supporting sustainable business growth.
Peter Juzenas, Vice President
fireside MARKET
I’m a proven leader that is known in the industry as a Customer, Strategy, Loyalty, Marketing, Operations and Change Management Expert. In all previous roles I’ve shown a consistent track record of great results by making data-led decisions and using my ability to creatively and dynamically solve problems. My entire career has been based around understanding and elevating the customer experience (internal & external) to drive KPIs. A key to those results has been my ability to develop top talent, leverage strong cross functional partnerships and influence across various levels of leadership.
In my role with fireside MARKET at Potawatomi Ventures I am leading their newest business. Fireside MARKET is the newest convenience store brand in the WI area, and it's ready to rapidly grow. We opened our first location in Slinger, WI in Fall, 2025, and now we are preparing to open other locations. Fireside MARKET is a food first convenience store that provides the ultimate guest experience while making everything easier for your busy life. From the premium, made to order food, to the "best in class" guest service to an incredible building to the best team members around...you will love the experience at fireside. I'm beyond honored to be leading this business and can't wait to see where we take it!
Prior to this role I was with Kohl's for 15 years. I loved my time at Kohl's and the career challenges it always presented. In my last role, I successfully led the acquisition and execution of the Kohl’s Card and Rewards programs, ensuring alignment and consistent communication across all levels of Store, Marketing, and Corporate leadership. I spearheaded the testing and launch of several new versions of the Loyalty program. This included launching the latest version of the Rewards program, Loyalty in Sephora shops, a new value prop of the private label credit card, and launching the co-branded credit card. Since 2021, I increased loyalty enrollments by over 400% year over year and increased Rewards transactions at POC from 55% to 80%. This was testament to my strategic vision and execution capability. All this was accomplished while always meeting financial goals and budgets.
I was able to accomplish all this because of the way I built and developed my teams. From 2021-2024, my org had the top engagement results in the company because I always delivered an experience for my teams where development, inclusion, idea sharing, fun and diversity were always paramount. Nobody builds and engages teams better than I do.
Christian King, President - Owner
KNC Holdings, Inc.
Christian P. King is a New York–based business owner, real estate investor, and executive, best known as the President and CEO of KNC Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Albany, New York.
With a career spanning more than three decades, King has played a central role in building KNC Holdings into a diversified holding and operating company with interests in retail, real estate, and automotive services. Under his leadership, the company has developed and operates a network of convenience retail locations and service businesses across New York’s Capital Region, including partnerships with major national brands such as Mobil, Subway, Dunkin’, and Pizza Hut. The company also owns and operates its proprietary Clean2o Touch-Free Car Wash brand and maintains a wholesale distribution operation focused on car wash products and related supplies.
In addition to his corporate leadership, King has been actively involved in real estate investment, with a portfolio focused primarily on commercial and industrial properties throughout the Albany–Schenectady–Troy region. Public records indicate long-standing activity in property acquisition, development, and financing, often through affiliated entities.
King’s business footprint extends across multiple corporations and ventures, many headquartered at KNC’s Albany offices, reflecting a vertically integrated approach to operations, real estate, and retail services.
Known for his entrepreneurial approach and regional focus, Christian P. King has established a strong presence in the Capital Region’s retail and service economy, combining operational management with strategic investment to drive long-term growth.
Dennis McCartney, Director of Operations
Landhope Farms
Dennis McCartney is a seasoned operations, marketing, and community relations professional with more than two decades of leadership experience in retail convenience, foodservice, and organizational development. He currently serves as Director of Operations for Landhope Farms, where he oversees multi-location operations, strategic initiatives, employee development, branding, and customer experience across one of Southern Chester County’s most recognizable independent convenience retailers. His background combines hands-on operational leadership with a strong passion for creative marketing, team culture, and community engagement.
Throughout his career, Dennis has built a reputation for driving innovation while maintaining a strong focus on customer service and operational excellence. He has led numerous successful marketing campaigns, foodservice initiatives, and business growth strategies, while also mentoring management teams and fostering workplace cultures centered on accountability, positivity, and continuous improvement.
Dennis began his career at a small Sunoco Mini Market in Berea, Ohio as a third shift cashier. Through perseverance and continuing education, he worked this way through store management, district management, regional merchandising management and finally into the corporate marketing department at Sunoco Aplus as the Category Manager for retail and prepared foods. He has now been the Director of Operations at Landhope Farms for nearly 14 years, where he is a change agent, rainmaker and firefighter (not literally).
Dennis wears many hats in the organization and likes it that way. Overseeing the finance department and project manager, Dennis also solely manages the marketing, procurement, category management, vendor relationship management and overall stewardship of the brand. Dennis finds great enjoyment in the autonomy given him by ownership to make Landhope Farms the best it can be. That effort, and that of his team, recently earned Landhope Farms the title of Grand Prize Winner in the 2026 Outstanding Independent Operators Award from Convenience Store News.
In addition to his corporate leadership role, Dennis serves as President of the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce, where he advocates for local businesses and community collaboration throughout the region. Under his leadership, the Chamber has expanded member engagement and launched successful community-focused events, including the Oxford Harvest Festival, which quickly became a signature regional attraction.
Dennis is especially passionate about building strong community partnerships and supporting local nonprofit organizations. He has helped spearhead charitable initiatives involving food insecurity relief, local fundraising campaigns, and business-community collaboration efforts. Known for his high-energy leadership style, creativity, and relationship-building abilities, Dennis is committed to creating positive experiences for customers, employees, businesses, and the broader community alike.
Steve McKinley, CEO/Founder
Urban Value Corner Store
Steve McKinley is the CEO and Founder of Urban Value Corner Store (UVCS), a Dallas-based company redefining how convenience retail integrates into residential communities. Since launching UVCS, Steve has led the development of a new amenity category—bringing full-service corner stores and autonomous SMART Store Coolers directly into multifamily and single-family environments to enhance the resident experience. With a clear focus on the belief that “Convenience Is the Amenity®,” Steve has guided UVCS through steady growth, building a portfolio of innovative retail solutions that serve both developers and residents. His approach combines operational discipline, curated product assortments, and technology-driven insights to create a daily-use amenity that drives occupancy, retention, and overall community value. A recognized voice in the convenience and multifamily industries, Steve has spoken at national conferences, including the NACS Show, where he emphasized the role of purpose-driven culture in operational performance. Under his leadership, UVCS was named a 2025 Outstanding Independents Award winner by Convenience Store News. Steve continues to lead UVCS with a forward-looking vision—building scalable retail platforms that meet the evolving expectations of modern communities while delivering measurable impact for property owners and residents alike.
Ryan Razowsky, President
Rmarts LLC
VP of Convenience Retail, Horizon Group
Ryan is President of Rmarts LLC, a company that specializes in operating fuel and convenience stores throughout the Chicagoland area. As a third-generation owner/operator, he has focused his attention on efficient day-to-day operations, forward-thinking leadership and the acquisition of new business. Ryan has thirteen years of experience in the field of successful property and personnel management for a portfolio of Shell, Mobil and Citgo branded locations. Ryan spearheaded the acquisition of 10 high-volume fuel and convenience stores from World Fuels Services in 2017. Ryan graduated from the University of Kansas in 2008 with a degree in Economics. He is an active member in the YPO Chicagoland chapter and is on the executive committee of the Ravinia Festival Associates Board.
Tom Rebain, VP - Strategy and Business Operations
Verifone
Reformed Finance and Accounting Executive of 25 years now leading Strategy and Operations for our Commander Payments growth initiative serving the Unbranded Fuel and Convenience Market.
Scott Sawant, V.P. of Convenience Retail
HRA Group
VP of Convenience Retail, Horizon Group
Scott Sawant is a seasoned convenience retail executive known for building powerful vendor partnerships, accelerating sales growth, and leading high performing teams across the Southeast. As VP of Convenience Retail at Horizon Group—part of the Horizon Retailers Association supporting thousands of independent and multi unit convenience stores across the region—Scott plays a central role in driving value for retailers through strong supplier alignment, operational execution, and strategic program development. [hraga.com]
With deep expertise in vendor relationships, contract negotiation, logistics, distribution management, and P&L analysis, Scott has a proven track record of turning category insights into actionable growth strategies. He leads large, cross functional Foodservice and Grocery teams, overseeing everything from merchandising and marketing initiatives to full scale retail program execution.
Scott excels in client management, serving as the primary point of contact for key partners, strengthening long term relationships, addressing operational needs, and delivering solutions that increase in store sales performance. His ability to identify revenue opportunities, pitch new products and services, negotiate agreements, and shift market share from competitors has made him a trusted leader among both retailers and major CPG partners.
A strong driver of new business development, Scott consistently prospects, networks, and engages new customers—leveraging tradeshows, industry events, and direct outreach to generate high value leads. He coordinates complex projects with internal teams, provides actionable reporting on market trends and sales performance, and ensures flawless execution of client programs from concept to rollout.
Scott’s hands on leadership extends to team development, where he trains and supports new sales professionals while fostering a culture of accountability and customer first service. His disciplined approach to operational reporting—including GAP and backorder management—ensures stores receive the right products at the right time, helping retailers optimize assortment and maintain strong inventory health.
Driven, strategic, and relentlessly relationship focused, Scott continues to advance HRA Group’s mission of empowering convenience retailers through innovative solutions, stronger vendor connections, and meaningful marketplace support,
Jared Scheeler, CEO
The Hub Convenience Stores, Inc
Jared Scheeler is the CEO of Dickinson, ND based The Hub Convenience Stores. The Hub consists of five locations in the energy-rich Bakken Oil Region of western North Dakota. Established in 2015, The Hub is a future-focused retailer with an emphasis on foodservice and technology. Boasting large store footprints and a unique branding package, The Hub is poised for accelerated growth.
Scheeler was born and raised in Dickinson, ND. Upon graduating high school he attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. While attending college, he took a part-time job at Bobby & Steve's Auto World's flagship convenience supercenter in downtown Minneapolis and fell in love with convenience retailing. Jared worked for Bobby & Steve's for fifteen years before he and his family moved back home to start The Hub.
Jared and his wife, DeAnn, are in an active stage of their lives as their four children (Abby, Annabel, Jack, and Molly) are working their way through the busy years of their schooling. DeAnn serves as the Director of Mission Advancement for Trinity Catholic Schools in Dickinson, while Jared moonlights as the head coach of the girls basketball team at Trinity High School.
Jonathan Tang, President
Tang Mart, LLC
Jonathan Tang is the owner and operator of Tang Mart. Tang Mart founded in 2013, operates 5 stores in Northeast Alabama. Jonathan also works with Ira Phillips, Inc a small fuel distributor/wholesaler founded in 1938 that serves customers in the commercial, agricultural and cardlock space.
Jonathan is married to his lovely wife Kate since 2007 and has one teenage son Xavier. He enjoys coaching soccer, grilling on the Big Green Egg, Craft Beer (Possibly while Grilling) and watching Auburn / Atlanta Sports Teams.
SOVG Facilitator
Roy Strasburger
CEO, StrasGlobal
President, Compliance Safe
Roy Strasburger is an expert in convenience retailing and a thought leader in the retail industry. He is a frequent columnist, conference presenter, and webinar and podcast participant.
Roy is a fourth-generation retailer and is currently CEO of StrasGlobal, a retail support and consulting company based in Austin, Texas, USA. In this capacity, he oversees StrasGlobal’s retail, tech, and consulting businesses. He also serves as President for Compliance Safe – a business document management software solution that won the CSP Retailer Choice Best New Technology Product in 2020.
Roy attended Baylor University graduating with degrees in Marketing and Computer Information Systems. He obtained his JD degree from Baylor University Law School in 1984 and joined a British law firm based in the Caribbean.
After moving to England, where he started a publication company, Roy returned to the US to join Strasburger Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) as General Counsel. He later became President of SEI’s fuel division then, in 1994, he was named President of the International Division. From 2009 Roy ran SEI’s US and international convenience retailing businesses as well as heading up Cambridge-Myers, its consulting division. During his time with SEI, Roy was responsible for the development and/or operation of over 6,000 retail sites in 33 countries through the licensing of its systems and management agreements.
In 2012 Roy bought SEI’s retail business and continues to provide retail related services to multinational oil companies, financial institutions, investors, and independent operators under the StrasGlobal banner.
Roy is a co-founder of the Vision Group Network, where top level executives discuss current and future issues and share their perspective with the rest of the industry, and a co-founder of Resources for Retailers (RfR), an initiative that provides information, support and, most importantly, actionable plans for small retailers.
Roy is a member of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) where he served as Vice-Chairman on its Executive Board and Board of Directors and was a founding member of the NACS International Board. Roy is also a member of the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS), and a past member of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) where he participated on the Legislative Committee, the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), and the Tribal Convenience Store Association (TCSA). He has also been a member of The Coca-Cola Research Council, the Consumer Goods Forum (formerly CIES), and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT).
Roy is the recipient of Convenience Store News inaugural 2021 Special Service award.
Roy is an Officer in the Priory in the USA of The Order of St John and is a member of The American Friends of St George and Descendants of the Knights of the Garter. Roy and Eva are based in Austin, Texas and they have four daughters, Selina, Chantal, Lorelei and Danielle. Along with other charitable endeavors, Roy and Eva focus on supporting global cultural and heritage projects.
The context: Dreaming of new ventures, exploring foreign markets, early mornings watching cities come alive, G&Ts at Bali sunsets, reading The Economist, long road trips with rock’n roll on the radio, or Texas two-stepping with his four daughters. Enjoying the moment.
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Vision Group Network Global Summit
The 2026 VGN Virtual Global Summit will be attended by 100 VGN retail and Ally Supporter members, along with industry professionals across the globe in convenience, petroleum, mobility, technology, and foodservice sectors. The Summit will feature keynote speaker David Autor, widely recognized as one of the world’s leading labor economists.
WHEN: November 17, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: ONLINE
COST TO ATTEND: Free
