Two top executives from Wawa, Inc., the business whose convenience stores are part of the fabric of the mid-Atlantic and whose brand has grown to make it one of the country’s largest privately owned companies, will keynote this year’s first George Washington Leadership Series address at Washington College.
Richard D. Wood III ’91, director of government relations and sustainability for Wawa, Inc., and Howard B. Stoeckel, vice chairman of the board, will speak on “How Wawa Has Become an Endearing and Enduring Brand.” The event on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, is at 2:30 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, and is free and open to the public.
Wood, who was an American studies major at Washington College, earned his masters in business at Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia. He’s been with Wawa for 17 years, after spending six years with the Coca-Cola Company. Stoeckel has been with Wawa for 27 years; prior to his current role, he served as president and CEO for eight years, as well as senior vice president of marketing, and vice president of human resources. He authored the book The Wawa Way in 2014.
Wawa, with its well-known goose logo, has more than 650 convenience stores specializing in foodservice and gasoline in five mid-Atlantic states and now Florida. With roots in George Wood’s turn-of-the-century dairy farm in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Grahame Wood opened the first Wawa Food Market in April 1964 in Folsom, Pennsylvania. The timing—at the cusp of the new convenience store trend—was ideal, and the stores continue to be known for their fresh food selections and dairy products. Today, Wawa is No. 34 on the Forbes list of America’s largest private companies, with revenues of $9.7 billion and more than 22,000 employees. Forbes also lists it among its “30 hall-of-fame companies” on its Private 30 Index.
J. Taylor Buckley says
Hoagiefest in Chestertown? Hot ziggedy!