Dive Brief:
- Don Bassell, chief financial officer for Arko Corp., which oversees c-store giant GPM Investments, will retire at the end of 2023, according to a Tuesday announcement.
- Arko will begin its process to find a successor, considering both internal and external candidates, according to the announcement.
- Bassell will remain CFO until a successor is in place, and will stay with Arko until April 2024 to make sure the transition goes smoothly and “ensure continuity of operations.”
Dive Insight:
Don Bassell, CFO of Arko.
Permission granted by Arko
Bassell joined the company as CFO of GPM Investments in 2004, and held that position until 2010. After a four-year stint as CFO of Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores, Bassell returned to his previous role with GPM in 2014, and held the position until being named CFO of Arko in 2020, according to the company’s website.
During his tenure with Arko and GPM Investments, Bassell has helped guide the company as it completed more than 20 acquisitions, Arie Kotler, chairman, president and CEO of Arko, said in the announcement.
“In sixteen years with the Company, Don has been a tireless leader and seasoned partner who helped Arko grow, scale, and innovate from a regional leader into one of the largest convenience store operators in the country,” Kotler said.
Before joining the company in January 2004, Bassell held a variety of financial, treasury and management information system roles with major oil companies, other distributors and service providers. He has over 42 years of experience in the c-store and fuel industries, according to the announcement.
Richmond, Virginia-based Arko has around 1,400 c-stores in 33 states under a variety of brands, including E-Z Mart, Breadbox, ExpressShop and Quarles. The company is divided into four segments: convenience store retail, wholesale fuel, the GPM petroleum division that supplies the fuel for the first two areas and its fleet fueling department
