CSP Announces 2021 Category Manager of the Year Winners

CHICAGO, March 18, 2021 -- CSP announced the winners of its sixth annual Category Manager of the Year (CMOY) awards March 9 during Convenience Retailing University (CRU) Community.

These category crusaders were recognized for tackling issues such as new product placement and retail disruption to keep their convenience-store chains on track to grow sales even during the trying year that was 2020.

CSP's 2021 Category Manager of the Year

For the sixth year in a row, CSP has honored the best in the field, this year with a virtual happy hour complete with a mixologist and video submissions from each winner. Sponsored by Altria Group Distribution Co., the ceremony celebrated champions in nine core categories and a multiple-categories segment.

"This year's winners stand out for the ways they maintained focus on their product segments even as the very foundation of retailing was evolving," said CSP Content Director Steve Holtz, who announced the award winners along with Danielle Holloway, senior director of industry engagement for Altria Group Distribution Co. "We congratulate the winners for keeping the c-store industry on the cutting edge of product selection while adapting to new social-distancing and product safety standards."

Industry suppliers nominated potential finalists in fall 2020 and, under the direction of CSP editors, three finalists from each of the key categories were chosen. The final voting process took place online in January, and CSP tallied the hundreds of votes in February. The winners received the coveted CMOY trophy and will be featured in a special section of the April issue of CSP, the 2021 Category Management Handbook.

CSP's 2021 Category Manager of the Year winners are:

Category	Winner	Company
Beer/Alcohol	Sean Hickox	South Atlantic (formerly Circle K)
Behind the Counter	Kevin Harder	Yesway
CBD	Brad Campbell	Sheetz
Center Store	Kelley Gutierrez	MAPCO
Delivery/Loyalty	Eric Rush	QuickChek
Dispensed Beverages	Jessica Tritten	Love's Travel Centers
Foodservice	Andrew Kintigh	Casey's General Stores
Forecourt/Operations	Brian Renaud	Sheetz
Multiple Categories	Kim Jenks	Kwik Trip
Packaged Beverages	Dawn Barnett	Circle K - Midwest

CSP magazine is the leading source of information for the $650 billion convenience-retailing industry. Its award-winning editors provide actionable solutions and data-driven trends to key decision-makers who rely on this information to combat disruption. CSP annually hosts Convenience Retailing University and the Outlook Leadership conference, which are two large-scale leadership events, as well as several small-format meetings in its EduNetworking series. The team also delivers insights via print publications, a website and daily newsletters.

Contact:
Steve Holtz
312-940-1576
[email protected]

SOURCE CSP