Avsha Klachuk, Director of marketing technology of ALON Brands, Dallas TX, and 2010 Vice Chairman has assumed the role of Chairman of the Board of Advisors of The Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS); the convenience and petroleum industry’s technology standards body. Mr. Klachuk has a long history of advocating and supporting industry standards through his many years involvement with PCATS, including serving as Vice Chairman of the Board. Mr. Klachuk succeeds Pat Lewis, of Oasis Stores as Chairman.
“I am honored that the PCATS membership has chosen me to lead the organization, and truly excited about the standards work and opportunities that will provide real cost savings to the industry”, said Mr. Klachuk. “As a multi-vertical, multinational organization, Alon has long understood the value of technology standards and supported this belief through PCATS. I look forward to continuing the excellent work and leadership of Pat Lewis and his predecessors.”
PCATS also held general elections for open Vice Chair and At Large Board of Advisor positions. Voting commenced with the slate of candidates being announced at the Annual Conference in New Orleans, followed by a call for additional nominations and voting held via email during the month of February, 2011.
· Vice-Chair Ed Collupy, Vice President information Services, The Pantry, Inc., Sanford, NC. Mr. Collupy has spent his professional life in retail, bringing his passion for industry standards in the supermarket industry to convenience and petroleum retail.
· At Large James Maxey, Vice President of Retail Systems, Valero Retail Holdings, Inc., San Antonio, TX Mr. Maxey has long been involved in PCATS including through its spin-off from NACS in 2004, also previously holding several PCATS Board positions.
Individual PCATS Committees have also concluded election of Committee Chairs, who will serve on the Board of Advisors:
· EB2B Committee Chair Jenny Bullard, Chief Information Officer, Flash Foods, Waycross, GA. Ms. Bullard is a pioneer in industry standards, having been involved in the original NACS Technology Standards project started in the mid-1990’s. Ms. Bullard has also served as PCATS Chairman, as well as several other Board positions.
· Membership and Marketing Committee Chair Drew Mize, Vice President of product management and marketing, The Pinnacle Corporation, Arlington, Texas. Mr. Mize has been very active in PCATS, most recently serving as Chair of Electronic Business to Business committee.
· Data Security Committee Chair Ann Seki, Compliance Analyst, Chevron Corporation, San Ramon, CA. Ms. Seki volunteered to act as Chair of this new committee dedicated data security guidance and advocacy. Under Ms. Seki’s leadership, the Data Security Committee has grown to be a vital part of the PCATS mission.
Board positions that were not open for election this year are filled by:
· Secretary Kraig Adams, Vice President customer solutions, Coca Cola Refreshments, Atlanta, Georgia
· Immediate Past Chair Pat Lewis, Partner of Oasis Stop 'N Go Convenience Stores, Twin Falls, Idaho
· Certification Committee Chair Gregg Peele, President and CEO of CmiSolutions, Charlotte, North Carolina
· Point-of-Sale (POS)/Back Office (BO) Committee Vice-Chair Jeff Shein, Software Development Lead, Radiant Systems, Alpharetta, Georgia
· Technology Advisory Committee Chair Bill Wade, Senior Systems Analyst, Professional Data Solutions, Temple, Texas
· Device Integration/OSA Committee Chair Ken Ringeman, Systems Architect, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Inc., Greensboro, NC.
· Retail Financial Transactions Committee Chair Brad McGuinness, Vice President of Development, VeriFone, Inc., Clearwater, FL Director at
· National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Representative Michael Davis, Vice President of Retailer Services, Alexandria, VA.
About PCATS
The Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS) is a non-profit organization devoted to the development, maintenance, and implementation of standards, education, and best practices for the convenience store and petroleum retail segments. PCATS began as a technology standards project of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), and later spun-off as PCATS - a stand-along organization - in 2004. Members of PCATS collaborate and focus on key industry technical challenges and initiatives, our work efforts influence the cost of ownership and interoperability of technology within the industries we serve.
Today, PCATS has over 140-member companies, and has integrated operations with NACS and, in the process, assumed all technology initiatives previously within NACS.
For additional information about
PCATS, contact Ann Zecca, PCATS Office Manager.
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. 540-288-8832