Congratulations to Allison Cornish, Vice President of Store Modernization, who has been named by Convenience Store News 2022 as one of the “Top Women in Convenience” in the elite Women of the Year category.
The category recognizes those who have had an “exceptional impact on the success or direction of their company, as well as a positive impact on the convenience store industry as a whole.” Each winner was nominated through an in-depth questionnaire covering achievements, leadership, influence, and qualifications – and Allison’s success in each of these areas helped secure the top honor.
“Anyone who knows Allison would agree she deserves this great honor,” said Shameek Konar, CEO of Pilot Company. “She is a hard worker who always accepts challenges that come her way.”
Five women across the industry receive the top honor amongst hundreds of nominees and Allison’s exceptional achievements over the last 12 months earned her a spot among these amazing women. The five Women of the Year will join an extended class of honorees in categories of Senior-Level Leaders, Rising Stars, and Mentors from across our industry in the retail, wholesale, and supplier sectors. All of this year’s honorees will come together at an awards gala in Las Vegas this fall for an official ceremony and celebration.
New Horizons
Allison has been with the company for nearly 23 years and her current role includes oversight of store modernization initiatives. She oversees the design and execution of store improvement initiatives alongside Pilot Company’s construction and development team.
One of her largest endeavors is a three-year project, called New Horizons, which is a $1 billion initiative focused on upgrading the guest experience and equipping our stores for the future of travel. This project is the company’s largest investment in store modernization to date and will fully remodel more than 400 Pilot and Flying J travel centers, as well as make upgrades at several more locations across the country.
Allison is at the helm of the planning, design and execution of New Horizons, and is incredible passionate about incorporating feedback from team members and guests to help inform what locations and types of improvements need to be made. She also looks at trends and ideas from the retail space, as well as considers how infrastructure, the energy transformation and future products will impact our stores. She and the team strive to make meaningful upgrades at each travel center that will make it a better, faster and more enjoyable experience for team members and guests today, while preparing for what’s next.
Allison cares about her team, sets a great example, leads with humility and integrity, and has a passion for this company and all our Team Members. We are proud of her and the work she does, especially how she is leading New Horizons, one of our company’s biggest initiatives. – Shameek Konar, CEO of Pilot Company
Prepared Through Experience
In her prior roles with Pilot, Allison was a Vice President of Operations and spent several years of her career prior to that running stores in various parts of the country. She also served as Chief of Staff during her tenure and gained experience working cross-functionally across many departments to support leaders in strategy and execution of many key initiatives. Through this experience, Allison has developed a keen intuition which helps her make decisions for things that aren’t formulaic. With the many roles and hats Allison has worn over the years, she has a deep understanding of the company, our team members, our guests and our customers, which is immensely helpful as she sets out to help the company modernize its stores for the future.
A Lesson on Personal Growth
Allison routinely mentors and meets with young and up-and-coming leaders including those in similar roles that she’s had throughout her career. When asked about the impact she has made through these relationships, Allison quickly insisted on how much she’s learned through these mentoring relationships as well.
“It’s important for women to support other women. I’ve learned the value in helping other women see the value in themselves. It’s also important for women to push people to get outside their comfort zone. If you want to grow, you have to pursue and take jobs that make you uncomfortable, those that have aspects that you don’t know much about. That’s when you grow!”
We congratulate Allison and the entire class of Top Women in Convenience for being role models and great leaders within their companies and within our industry.
