2016 Southeast Woman Executive of the Year

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RaceTrac’s Third-Generation CEO Makes Sure to Retain Culture of Humility, Continuous Improvement Allison Bolch Moran has been CEO of RaceTrac Petroleum Inc., the Atlanta-based convenience store operator, since the beginning of 2013. Just a few of the reasons Moran was chosen as the 2016 Woman Executive of the Year by The Shelby Report of the Southeast include her collaborative style of leadership that has led to a family atmosphere at the company; her devotion to the company’s mission to make people’s lives simpler and more enjoyable by empowering the company’s friendly, fun-loving team members; providing guests with the products and services they’re looking for; and her dedication to helping store associates and executives alike to keep their family priorities in balance.

Moran is the third-generation leader of the family-owned company. She is the granddaughter of the company’s founder, Carl Bolch Sr., who started the company in 1934 in St. Louis, putting stores near the burgeoning interstate system to offer competitively priced gasoline and basic snacks and drinks for locals and travelers. His son, Carl Bolch Jr., joined him in the business in 1967. Over the years, the company’s headquarters moved to Montgomery, Alabama, and then to Atlanta in 1976.

Born in Greenwich, Connecticut, Moran grew up in Atlanta. She went to a local private school that her daughters, Jorie and Margaret, later would attend and where she met her husband, Crawford Moran, who owns and operates three brewpubs, two 5 Seasons Brewing locations and one Slice & Pint location, in the Atlanta area.

She graduated in 1990 from Denison University in Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is a Kellogg Scholar at the Kellogg School of Business Management at Northwestern University.

Moran joined RaceTrac in 1994, working in the operations department. She was promoted to VP of human resources in 1999 and SVP in 2005. When she became CEO in January 2013, succeeding her father, he maintained his position as chairman, which he continues to hold today.

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The third generation at RaceTrac is four people strong; three of Moran’s siblings also work in the marketing, strategy and real estate areas of the business.

RaceTrac has two operating divisions: RaceTrac and RaceWay, and a mix of subsidiaries.

RaceTrac owns and operates more than 400 RaceTrac convenience store locations across Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.

It also owns nearly 300 contractor-operated RaceWay convenience store locations in 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

In addition to her work at RaceTrac, Moran is a member of the board of Herschend Enterprises Inc., an active member of Young President’s Organization (YPO), serves on the Executive Committee for the Family Business Network, and is a member of the Atlanta Club of Rotary International. In addition, Moran serves on the board of trustees for her high school alma mater, the foundation board for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and is a member of the board of NACS, the National Association for Convenience Retailing.

RaceTrac has been named a Top Workplace across the four states in which it operates, as well as being recognized on Forbes’ list of largest private companies (1998-2015).

The company’s core values—honesty, efficiency, positive attitude, respect and teamwork— are posted in every store as well as in every room of the company’s Store Support Center in Atlanta, which, incidentally, is about to move to a new, larger location due to the company’s growth. Team members are challenged to deliver a “WOW” experience to guests by living “The RaceTrac Way,” which means having a warrior’s passion, a humble attitude and living for fun every day.

Here are excerpts from Editor Lorrie Griffith’s interview with Moran at RaceTrac’s Store Support Center.

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How did you end up back in Atlanta after college?

I left Atlanta when I went to a small liberal arts college called Denison University in Ohio where I got a degree in psychology. After college, I headed to North Carolina where my husband was in graduate school, and about a year after we got married we decided to move back home to Atlanta. We have been home ever since and have raised our children here.

It’s a great city. We have two daughters; one is 19 and just finished her first year in college, and my youngest is a rising senior in high school.

Does your psychology degree come in handy?

It’s applicable every day; more so than I ever would have imagined. It’s helpful, especially when you deal with people, to understand their motivations, how they think and general human behavior. I honestly couldn’t think of a better degree when you’re in management than a degree in psychology.

How did you join RaceTrac?

My husband and I had just moved back home and, like a lot of young people that grow up in the family business, you swear to yourself that you will never work for your father.

Well, I was one of those, convinced I would never work at RaceTrac. When we moved back to Atlanta and I was in transition, finding a new job, my father said, “I have a project.”

He made it very clear that it was just a project, and I expect this was intentional; he didn’t want me to feel pressured or anything. So, I came on board to develop a store manager training program since we didn’t have one at the time.

RaceTrac stuck for me. And I think part of the reason it stuck was I saw a real opportunity to make an impact and to improve the lives of our team members across the company.

This focus has evolved today into a really strong culture.

Today we have a full human resources team that supports our people both at the Store Support Center and in our stores, and seeing that impact grow is, to me, what has been the differentiator for RaceTrac.

How many stores were there when you first came on board in 1994?

There were about 200 stores when I joined RaceTrac in 1994. As we were evolving as, primarily, a fuel retailer to a stronger focus on the merchandise/c-store side of the business, we realized the operational efficiencies we could gain in concentrating our markets, whereas prior to this shift we had built a reputation primarily as a high-volume, low-price fuel retailer located along the highway.

We took a number of our stores that were more isolated and converted them to our RaceWay brand, where they are operated by an independent operator. This initiative enabled our company-operated stores to benefit from easy accessibility, streamlined marketing efforts and product delivery.

Further, we were able to continue to generate a good revenue from these “converted” assets by leasing the property to an independent operator who then has the flexibility to operate the store as they see fit and provide offerings that cater to the specific community they serve.

Did you see quick results after setting up the store manager training program?

Where I saw a significant impact was from the first module we built, the “associate hiring module.” That training module contained tools to equip our store managers who, at the time, did all the hiring for their own stores. It showed them a more comprehensive approach so they could hire better quality people, and we saw an immediate impact from giving them those tools and helping them understand the importance of applicant interviews.

After that, we started putting in systematic processes for how applicants applied and the process they went through, and that also had a dramatic impact. Our staffing levels improved and turnover went down.

It probably took about five years to really see the operational benefits of giving store managers the training tools they needed. The program was such a great success due to working directly with our people in the field and having them feel a part of developing these programs—after all, they are the experts. They sit closest to serving our guests and knowing what needs to be done to do this effectively.

So that’s what got you in the door?

That’s right. I drank the Kool-Aid and have been here ever since!

Do you have early memories of the business, since your

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grandfather started it?

My grandfather died when I was 9 or 10 years old, so a lot of my memories of him are from the days I spent with him on his ranch in Selma, Alabama.

A lot of my memories of my father are related to the business, though. Like when we would go down to Florida on vacation, we would always stop and see stores on the way and look at potential real estate as well. That was always part of any vacation or trip as a child.

One of my favorite stories is when I was up in Ohio looking at colleges, Denison being one of them, and it was just me and my father. My stepmother loves capturing every moment of everybody’s life, and she was adamant that he take pictures and capture this experience for the two of us. Fortunately for him, the one picture he did take of me visiting colleges was at Denison.

The rest of the roll was of a c-store chain in the Ohio region. He liked what he saw and wanted to be able to share their ideas with the team back in Atlanta. That pretty much tells the story of what it’s like to be the daughter of a CEO! (laughing) When you own your own business, it never stops.

But having a CEO as a father was really nice because he would talk about the business and what he was thinking about. He would not just share his insights but also seek our opinion: Did you taste this? What did you think about it?

That sort of thing.

Do any of your siblings work for RaceTrac?

Three of my siblings work here with me. My sister Natalie Morhous, who’s the oldest of the three siblings, is our executive director of strategy and solutions. She leads our strategic efforts and innovation and initiatives. My sister Melanie Isbill, who is next in line of the three, is executive director of marketing. And then our younger brother, Jordan Bolch, is a site selection specialist, working in real estate.

It’s an interesting balance working in the family business.

It’s tough because sometimes you have to draw boundaries.

Sometimes we have to say, “Let’s not talk about RaceTrac,” especially for our spouses who have to listen to us talk about the family business frequently—and probably more often than they would like.

But then, by the same token, it’s a blessing, too, of being able to share a passion and have the shared commitment to want to see our family business continue to succeed and sustain for generations to come.

What are some lessons you’ve learned from your father about running the business?

Part of our culture here really stems from him and who he is as an individual—he is extremely humble. We don’t like to talk about ourselves a whole lot.

Even today, people don’t realize that not only are we are based in Atlanta, but we’re also the second-largest privately held business in Atlanta. For us, we’re just here to serve our guests and to continually work towards serving them in better and better ways each and every day. We don’t tend to get caught up in all of our successes—we just continue to focus on our work; rolling up our sleeves and doing what needs to be done.

Not only is that something that’s very much a part of our culture here, but it’s also a big part of my own family, because it all came from my father. Being his child, I never realized the size of his responsibility and the scope of the business he had built. You don’t fully understand that until you’re in the middle of it and you realize, wow, it’s impressive what he has done with this business and the legacy that he will leave. This is when you feel the awesomeness of your responsibility—to make sure you can keep it going.

I’d say definitely humility would be my primary lesson.

“Allison’s firm yet collaborative leadership style is appreciated by many at RaceTrac. She lives by example in her desire to create a positive environment in which team players thrive. As her sister and a fellow RaceTrac executive, I have had the privilege of being led by Allison personally and professionally for years.

She never wavers on her strong values and expects leaders at all levels of RaceTrac to be values-driven—a quality that truly defines our culture. I am proud to call her both leader and family and look forward to where she will take RaceTrac in the years to come.”

—Natalie Morhous Executive Director of Strategy & Solutions, RaceTrac

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But my father also taught us to never be satisfied with the status quo. You always have to be mindful of what is changing and evolving and work to always improve. We never lack for good ideas because we constantly want to do better with whatever it is we’re doing each day.

At the heart of this lesson is the fundamental core belief of letting the marketplace be your teacher. You have to be mindful of how the market is changing, how the consumer is changing, and be willing to adapt and change along with that.

Is the Millennial consumer impacting your decisions these days?

I think they are. When we were best known for low price and high volume fuel, that’s what the consumer was seeking back then. We offered mostly commodities, and we were a tough competitor. That was our hallmark.

But then the consumer started to change and they were saying, “I want something a little bit different from a convenience store” or “our lives are getting busier and we want that grab-and-go food but with the quality I deserve.” We realized that was a real opportunity that we could take advantage of to get more shoppers in our store.

Millennials want those things and they also want to know more about the products they’re eating. They want more of an experience, and that has really changed the definition of our stores. We were in a commodities business where we could readily copy our competitors and they could readily copy us.

Now, it’s how do we give a real differentiated experience so they want to choose RaceTrac? Understanding consumers is what has enabled us to set a mark in our industry and define where we’re headed in the future.

Do you pay more attention to the atmosphere of the store now?

Absolutely. Before, the experience was really based on fuel price alone. Now, after the consumer has said, “I want more and I expect you to deliver it,” we try to not only do that but to also deliver a little bit of the unexpected as well.

Does that take the form of product or experience or what?

We oftentimes call it a “surprise and delight” moment. It can be either with the experience or the products, but it definitely has to do with our people.

Part of our differentiated experience is that our team members truly enjoy what they do. Our guests come in and see our folks having fun and enjoying their job, so they get that little unexpected difference in their day.

Especially as we have gone to more of a neighborhood/ community approach, we’re a part of that guest’s “everyday” in that community. They come in and they want to engage with those store team members that they know and who know them, and it makes their day a little bit better.

We actually had an incentive a couple of years ago and we challenged our store teams to see who could grow their inside sales the most within a market. The winning store would have the executive team come and run their store for a day so the whole store team could get the day off.

It was funny how the guests reacted when they walked into the winning store on their day off. They walked in and were shocked, saying, “I don’t know anyone here, what have they done with my team?” When we explained it, they said, “That was very well-deserved and that’s awesome; I just wanted to make sure they’re here tomorrow.”

You don’t realize until you’re in the store the difference that our store teams make on the people in their community, which is very gratifying.

What is your leadership style?

I think we’re fortunate in that the evolution of the company as well as the transition in leadership has really been handin-glove. My father was your typical entrepreneur. He would have ideas and execute those ideas. As he grew the business, he was able to be in the business because it grew as he grew up.

It was a more traditional style leadership; everyone coming to him to make decisions. His leadership style lent itself well to that period of the company’s growth.

I’m much more of a collaborative leader. Not only does that come very naturally to me, but also with where the company is today and the size of it, the fact is that there is not one person who can manage all those decisions. I had grown up through the retail side of the business, but as I stepped into the CEO position three years ago, there was a whole other aspect to our business that I hadn’t had the opportunity to directly get

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my hands deep in, such as our fuel supply and distribution business.

My natural inclination is to turn to our team members and say, “You’re in this position for a reason. I trust you’re going to make the right decision, and if not, we’re going to learn from it and figure out what we’re going to do differently in the future.”

Both approaches have lent themselves very well to each stage the company has been in.

We have great people here who share our passion for the business. They are very committed. I don’t think I could have a better group of people on our executive team who not only are committed but are also smart. They’re going to figure out the solution, and they’re willing to be open and embrace learning and seek advice when they’re not sure what to do. They’re also willing to come forth to say, “Well, it didn’t go like I had hoped it would, can we talk about that?” We really enjoy working together and doing the work we do here every day.

What would a day in your work life look like?

When I’m here at the store support center, it’s typically full of meetings on various topics— strategic initiatives, updates or calls for input.

Other than that, I try to be out in the field visiting our stores when I can. More often than not, they know I’m coming and they say we need it “Allison ready.” My response is that if you have it guest ready, that’s all we need. I get paid to come visit the stores; our guests don’t.

When I visit the stores, it’s about being out there and figuring out what we can do better to make all our people’s lives simpler and more enjoyable.

What are some of the habits of a highly successful woman executive?

I have felt in my role as a woman leader here at RaceTrac that I naturally call upon my more feminine traits of caring for and nurturing people, and I know that’s OK. Many times, we spend more time with the folks we work with than our families, and we care about their lives and their well-being. That comes very naturally.

I also appreciate that having a more diverse representation in your leadership will lend to more diverse thinking and different problem-solving. Men, women, different ethnic backgrounds—the more diverse people you can surround yourself with for giving input, the easier it’ll be to find the best solution possible.

When I was promoted to the vice president role, I was one of two female vice presidents at the time. Now, we have five female executives, including myself, which is about a third of our executive leadership here. It’s a nice improvement, but I wouldn’t say I’ve made a concerted effort to hire only women in these roles. I want the most qualified individual, and of course I’m thrilled when it’s a female as well, so we can benefit from a little different thinking.

What are some of the benefits you offer employees?

One of the programs I think has been of value has been our scholarship program. We’ve awarded over $1.6 million in scholarships to our folks so we can continue to support their further education.

Flexibility with our work schedule is something we’re really working to move forward with now. As we know, people have a lot of different demands on them—how they can better meet those needs?

Another incentive that we enjoy a lot is called Chairman’s Council. It’s a program where we recognize our top performers, both at the store manager and operations supervisor level. We give them a four-day, three-night trip with a guest or their spouse and treat them like royalty to thank them for everything they do. It’s been a great incentive and a real community builder.

Recently, as we’ve worked to be a best place to work and have been recognized locally in a number of our markets, we’ve been trying to understand what would, from our people’s perspective, work to make RaceTrac a better place to work?

We also acknowledge that the younger age group is a lot different than the older age group.

We had what would be perceived today as a somewhat restricted dress code in our stores —no visible tattoos, look professional and sharp. We realized that in this day and age, the likelihood of finding a good quality candidate that is young and doesn’t have a visible tattoo is not likely.

So we made some tweaks, listening to our people in the field and what would make a difference for them.

We also just recently increased our pay rate for our store team members. Believe it or not, the changes to the dress code—we’re also a little more flexible about our shoes now—is what we heard the most excitement about. They felt these changes were more in alignment with our culture and who we are because we now allow for more personal expression in dress—we live for fun every day.

There’s a number of other benefits we offer, such as a daily meal discount program for our store team members, free drinks for all team members and more. It’s not so much about being programmatic with our benefits but really listening to our people. Just as the marketplace is our teacher, we have to listen to our people and what programs will make a difference in their lives.

Moran, at left, has a “pep rally” with store staff.

How do you handle family and business obligations?

For me, there’s nothing more important to me than raising my children. I always knew I wanted to have a family. Here at RaceTrac, I have had the ability to prioritize and be there for them when I need to be. I didn’t have to stick to a strict 9-to-5 schedule; as long as I was performing and doing what I was expected to do in my job, my schedule could be flexible to meet whatever it is I needed to do on the family front.

I feel not only have I been an example of that, but I have also been able to push that to the rest of our executives and the other folks here within the organization. I think one of the benefits of being a family business is—it can sound cliché—“we put families first.” But we truly believe that here. And our team members know if I have something that comes up, I have the ability to say, “is it OK, this is what I have to go take care of.” And they have the flexibility to do that as well.

I also believe that I don’t live to work; I work to live. The more you can give people flexibility—here’s what needs to be done, you know what your job is, how you go about doing that and when, you can figure out—I think you end up getting the best out of people.

I haven’t known any other way than you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.

My youngest daughter is a three-season athlete; I’m headed to a lacrosse game at 5 today actually. You just have to figure out your schedule and plan ahead. And you want to be part of your kids’ activities. You don’t realize how quickly time flies.

Thank you again for this honor. I am very humbled.

“Allison is an intelligent, independent female leader who has proven her value in her more than 20-year career in a male-dominated industry, the convenience store industry. She has consistently shown a zest for learning through her own studies and the ability to ask thought-provoking and detailed questions. She has demonstrated that having a successful career and raising a family are more than attainable to all of the women that she works with, including me. I am so fortunate to have had Allison serve in many capacities in my career, from supervisor to mentor to advocate to sponsor.

Even as the CEO of a large organization, she refuses to let her life priorities shift away from family while also continuing to give her time to support and grow all those that she works with at RaceTrac.”

—Whitney Woodward VP of Human Resources, RaceTrac

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they can choose to turn right into RaceTrac or left into the competition, and we have to give them the compelling reason to come to us, so we’re constantly trying to improve our offerings.

Our people are very competitive, but in a really healthy way, and that speaks to their commitment to what we’re all about. You also can’t forget to live for fun every day. As we say, we sell taquitos and beer, so we can’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s just a lot of fun around here.

Have you seen more women in high-level roles in the convenience store industry recently?

I would say so. My hope is to see more women in untraditional roles, like finance and operations.

This honor does something to elevate and recognize women’s contributions in the industry, and I think the more we have those opportunities arise will help spur a lot more of the change.

What are the qualities of the best RaceTrac store m ­ anagers?

I think a lot of that speaks to the RaceTrac Way that I mentioned—putting people first, living for fun every day, having a humble attitude and a warrior’s passion. The latter speaks to our natural competitiveness, where we really seek to do the best we can to win our guest over every day. Guests make choices;

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Guests Expect Different Things from Convenience Store Foodservice Today, And RaceTrac Delivers In January 2012, RaceTrac introduced its new store prototype featuring Swirl World frozen treats, an expanded coffee bar and fresh salads, sandwiches and fruits delivered fresh daily.

CEO Allison Moran says RaceTrac has been noted in industry circles for having had the “shortest learning curve” in terms of both its foodservice offerings and experience delivered to guests inside RaceTrac stores. One reason for that may be the company’s executive chef that oversees the development of the company’s proprietary food offerings.

Chef Bob Derian’s job is to create “a tasty product that people will want to seek out and purchase again,” Moran says.

Rigorous testing takes place at the company’s test kitchen facility, and then RaceTrac staff go to the test kitchen to try the products and give feedback. The products also go through a “consumer-test-in-the-car run—can you eat and be in your car and drive?” she adds. “We take it through pretty hefty testing before it will actually go live in our stores to provide to our guests.”

In addition to fresh sandwiches, a number of hot food choices also are available, including empanadas, everpopular roller grill items and, most recently, pizza, which currently is being introduced to a significant portion of the RaceTrac’s Turkey Swiss company’s stores.

Sandwich.

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For those looking for lighter, healthier choices, there is a “wide variety of salads, fruit cups, healthy snack trays and yogurt parfaits,” Moran says.

The fresh food cooler in RaceTrac’s new prototype stores.

Swirl World, a frozen treat bar that offers up to 10 different flavors and 40 different toppings on a daily basis, has drawn a wider audience to RaceTrac stores, according to Moran. She says RaceTrac’s core consumers now are bringing their families in for the by-the-ounce yogurt offering.

“It’s really appealed to a lot of different people,” Moran says.

“Women will buy it because of the low and non-fat flavors

and the fresh fruit toppings that are healthier choices for their families, and the kids love it because they’ll put more toppings on it than yogurt in the cup!

“One of the things we’ve learned is that our guests like to make things the way they want them,” she continues. “Our coffee and Swirl World are two good examples of where guests can come in and have it the way they like it, which could be r­ adically different than how the other person likes it, and that’s OK.” The success of RaceTrac’s foodservice program isn’t just about more food choices, according to Moran.

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“It’s all the pieces we’ve brought together. We now have seating outside or inside, so our guests can not only get yogurt, but they can also sit down, take a break and have some time off together as a family, or just kind of pause and take a moment to relax, as people are so busy throughout their day. It’s taking that whole environment and marrying it with a really nice variety of product offerings, because you will find someone wants the frozen yogurt, this person wants a candy bar, the other person says I want a milkshake or frozen beverage. Everybody leaves The outside of a RaceTrac 6K. Additional lighting both happy.” inside and out is part of the 6K concept.

Guests get to be their own barista and customize their “Crazy Good Coffee” at RaceTrac’s expanded coffee bar. They can add creamers, sweeteners and toppings like whipped cream and marshmallows, or nothing at all.

Remodels ongoing

While the trend in the retail food store industry is toward localization, for RaceTrac its strategic plan is more about consistency. The company wants its guests, wherever they travel in RaceTrac’s operational areas, to find the same kind of store and offerings.

The 6K is the company’s format of choice for new stores as well as when remodeling its legacy stores.

The company hopes to complete the remodeling of its legacy stores by the end of 2018. Even though they may not be as large as the new 6Ks, the legacy stores will be “right-sized” and have the same type of food offerings as the new stores.

“We’re anxious to get our legacies remodeled so we can deliver RaceTrac’s unique offers consistently to every guest,” Moran says.

RaceTrac’s stores are located in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (the company’s most concentrated market), south Louisiana, north Georgia and Florida (minus the panhandle).

Referring to the RaceTrac 6K, Robby Posener, VP of marketing, merchandising, design and construction, says, “Inside, our goal is to In Louisiana, about 21 stores will be remodeled this make the shopping experience even better than before with more intuitive layouts and a focus on showcasing the many food and year, from Baton Rouge to Lafayette to New Orleans. beverage options available within the store.”

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RaceTrac Gives Back RaceTrac says its charitable giving efforts demonstrate its core values and mission to its team members and guests during their times of need.

Since 2009, RaceTrac has dedicated charitable giving efforts to nonprofit organizations. Its top national partner is The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

“Parkinson’s hits very close to home,” Moran says. “My grandfather actually had Parkinson’s and my father has been diagnosed with it as well. It’s something that is important and near and dear to the hearts of the RaceTrac family.”

Each year, RaceTrac supports The Michael J. Fox Foundation through a 5K, where all proceeds go directly to the foundation.

RaceTrac also hosts Coffee for a Cause, which is one week every year where all coffee proceeds in all RaceTrac stores go to the foundation. Over the past few years, RaceTrac has donated more than $1.5 million to the cause.

Michael J. Fox and his foundation’s co-founder, Debi Brooks, visited RaceTrac in 2015 and spoke to the company, “which was a tremendous honor,” she says.

“He shared that we are the fourthlargest corporate contributor to the Michael J. Fox Foundation; the three companies (above us) are pharmaceutical companies.

We didn’t realize we had had that large of an impact on their organization and efforts to research and fight to find a cure for Parkinson’s.

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“It’s amazing the strides they have made; it’s been remarkable,” she continues. “A lot is due to Michael J. Fox and his ability to really rally efforts behind (the cause).”

RaceTrac also has awarded more than $1.6 million in scholarships to more than 1,700 store team members since 2006.

Allison Moran runs in RaceTrac’s annual 5K benefiting The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

This disease has touched the Bolch family personally. Carl Bolch Sr. succumbed to the disease and his son has received that diagnosis as well.

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“Allison is very focused on individual development, with a concentration on the personal and professional growth of the people who work for her.

She is a very thoughtful and caring leader with strong strategic thinking.

Allison is great at bringing teams from different departments and perspectives together.”

—Mark Reese VP of Operations, Maintenance and Store Support RaceTrac

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