Altria’s Bob Sears Leads New NACS Supplier Board

In addition, Joe Vonder Haar, managing partner of iSEE Store Innovations Inc., was named chair-elect and will succeed Sears as 2014-15 chairman.

October 13, 2013

ATLANTA – Bob Sears, director of trade & state relations and training & compliance for Altria Group Distribution Company, has been named 2013-14 chairman of the NACS Supplier Board.

In addition, Joe Vonder Haar, managing partner of iSEE Store Innovations Inc., was named chair-elect and will succeed Sears as 2014-15 chairman. Sears and Vonder Haar were named to their positions during the NACS Supplier Board meeting at the NACS Show in Atlanta.

Sears joined Philip Morris USA in 1996 as its director of trade marketing for national accounts. He has held a number of increasingly responsible positions for Philip Morris and Altria before being named to his current position earlier this year. Sears is a member of the board of directors of AWMA, NATO and Virginia Capitol Region of the American Red Cross. He earned a B.A. from Syracuse University.

Vonder Haar is the managing partner for iSEE Store Innovations LLC. Before founding the company in 2010, he spent 28 years with Anheuser-Busch Inc., retiring as vice president of the convenience store channel at He co-founded iSEE Store Innovations in fall 2010. Vonder Haar serves on charity boards for Education Is Freedom Foundation, Mid-Town Catholic Community Services and the St. Louis Public School Board Foundation.

The NACS Supplier Board is comprised of individuals from NACS supplier member companies that represent different product and service categories in the convenience store industry. Three vice chairmen also were elected to the five-member Supplier Board leadership team:

  • Kevin Martello, vice president of convenience, Dr Pepper Snapple Group;
  • Jeff Schouten, director of channel marketing, MillerCoors; and
  • Brad McGuinness, senior vice president of corporate R&D, VeriFone Inc.

In addition, four new members were elected to the NACS Supplier Board:

  • Jeff Blalock, vice president of c-store sales, Flowers Foods Snack Group;
  • Desiree Logsdon, vice president of marketing, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation;
  • Lisa Austin, vice president of sales-convenience, Oberto Brands; and
  • Dustin Snyder, senior vice president of business development, Eby-Brown Company LLC

The NACS Show, which runs through Oct. 15 at the Georgia World Congress Center, is ranked as the 47th largest trade show in the United States and is ranked fourth in the country for attracting attendees responsible for buying plans. More than 23,000 attendees from 60-plus countries are at the NACS Show, which features three days of general sessions, more than 50 educational sessions and 1,050 exhibiting companies in a 392,000 net-square-foot exposition floor. For the most up-to-date news and information on the event go to www.nacsshow.com.

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