NACS Convenience Summit Asia

Henry Armour is the president and CEO of NACS. He grew up working in his family’s retail businesses, Armour Oil Company, rising to the position of vice president and COO in 1977. In 1980, he joined The Standard Oil Company of Ohio, where he served as manager of development strategies. He later founded West Star Corporation, which grew to include 59 NOW! convenience stores, truck stops and quick-service restaurants in the Pacific Northwest until he sold the company in 2004. In 1988, Armour founded Epoch Corporation, which operated retail enterprises in California.

He became president and CEO of NACS in July 2005, having also served as the association’s chairman in 2002 and 2003. Armour earned a BA in economics from Stanford University, an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics, and an MBA and PhD in economics from Stanford University.

Charlie Chang is the CEO and co-founder of Ally Logistic Property (ALP), Taiwan’s first logistics property developer. Under his leadership, ALP has become a leader in the logistics industry in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, known for its innovative smart logistics solutions.

Chang has an extensive educational background, holding a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from UCLA, a Master of Science in Construction Management from USC, and a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Columbia University. He also earned a Master of Design in Real Estate Development from Harvard University in 2009 and a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University in 2008.

Before founding ALP in 2014, Chang worked in construction and real estate, serving as General Manager at Sansin Builders. His vision for transforming logistics property development led to the creation of ALP, where he has driven the company’s success and innovation in the logistics sector. Chang’s work continues to influence the future of logistics development in the region.

Brian is a Managing Director and currently leads Accenture’s Global and North America Fuels & Convenience Retail practice. He has spent the last 19 years working with 20+ fuels and convenience retailers around the world. Brian is passionate in helping to drive innovation throughout the business and ultimately setting clients up to capitalize on future trends. His experience stretches across customer experience, mobility, AI / GenAI, analytics, loyalty, retail site systems, payments, M&A, and large-scale complex deployments – spanning all channels of trade including Company Owned & Operated, Branded Wholesalers, Dealer, and Franchisee models.

Brian holds a degree from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, Bloomington and is a certified Program Management Professional (PMP).

Brian is married to his wife of 15 years, Emily, with two children, Abby (13) and Connor (9) – with his lovely dog Randall. He enjoys playing golf, racquetball, and basketball!

Oliver Wyman is a leading management consultancy, known for their expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation.

Eddison has over twelve years of industry and consulting experience, and focuses on advising energy providers and retailers, as well as mobility and industrial companies. Eddison has been working with clients on the energy transition – across low carbon fuels and e-mobility, as well as on sustainability and the circular economy. He engages clients in broader strategic discussions around business expansion, commercial effectiveness enhancement, sales, and logistics optimization. He also supports the rollout of strategic initiatives through organic and inorganic means.

Eelco joined the Nielsen family in Hong Kong in 2010, driving the regional relationship with a few key global FMCG customers. In 2015&16 he built the business development function in Asia Pacific. Since 2024 Eelco is back with NIQ and leads the Global Customer Organization for the region.

From 2017 to 2023 he was the Managing Partner for APAC for a global boutique consultancy specialized in commercial negotiations. Working with many of the same global customers as NIQ, this allowed Eelco to further deepen his understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the region.

As a Dutchman living in Asia for almost 20 years, Eelco brings together the best of east and west. With a Master in Economics, he is passionate about sustainability and delivering impact for his clients. He thrives on the development journeys of his teams.

Outside of work, Eelco is an avid skier and does triathlons. He currently lives in Tokyo with his wife and their two children, who share his love for adventure, exploring new places and cultures.

Michael Mueller joined Valora on 1 November 2012, initially as CFO of Valora Holding AG and since 1 March 2014 he has been the CEO. In his previous roles, he was the Owner & Managing Director of Rubus Capital Management Ltd. between 2010 and 2012, CEO/Delegate and Member of the Board of Directors of Jelmoli Holding AG between 2007 and 2010 as well as CEO of GVO Asset Management Ltd. between 2007 and 2009. Before this, he was a merger & acquisitions advisor in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and he worked for Bain & Company as a strategy consultant in strategic transformation and restructuring programmes. In addition to his role at Valora, Michael Mueller is a member of the Board of Directors of Merbag Holding AG since 2021.

With more than 18 years of professional experience, Wachirawuth is serving as Head of Asia-Pacific & Japan region at Koddi and his remit is to launch and grow the business and forge strategic partnership with Retailers and Digital Natives in the region.

Previously, he served as an Industry Director of Retail & Consumer Goods industries for Asia at Microsoft for almost 11 years. His key remit has been on driving industry go-to-market strategy, grow revenue targets and increase market-share for all-up Microsoft cloud solutions. Prior to this role, he was leading Retail & Consumer Goods Industries Sales for Business Applications in Asia, where he successfully exceeded revenue growth targets and increased market-share within the enterprise segment.

Prior to joining Microsoft, he was an Industry Sales Manager at Infor Global Solutions leading the Automotive and Japanese Owned Corporations (JOC) business. As a trusted advisor, he cultivated a strong bond with “G2” Leaders of Thai Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association (TAPMA) which resulted in growing sales revenue in this new customer segment.

Wachirawuth is passionate about generative AI, digital commerce, digital marketing, and sustainability. As an avid learner and certified Practising Management Consultant, he enjoys coaching business owners and start-ups in the areas of go-to-markets strategy, digital commerce, and digital marketing.

In his current role, Mark Wohltmann is responsible for the strategic development of NACS|Global, the exclusive, worldwide network, supporting its members’ businesses and their careers within the convenience- and fuel-retailing industry.

Mark has more than 20 years of experience in research & consulting, with a focus on FMCG/CPG and Retail. Prior to joining NACS in late 2016 Mark worked in Strategic Product Development with the Nielsen Company in Europe, developing solutions for clients from the Convenience Retail, HoReCa, eCommerce and Tobacco industry. Prior to this Mark worked with the start-up USP Market Intelligence, setting up Germany's largest convenience retail panel, as well as with Combera (Advantage Smollan), developing Marketing- and sales strategies for FMCG companies, entering the convenience retail sector.

Mark started his career in the advertising industry, focusing on trade marketing and sales advertising in impulse retail channels, working with Dorland in Berlin and with Grey and BBDO in Duesseldorf after studying business administration at the University of Siegen and being trained in advertising consulting.

George is a seasoned specialist in fuels and CVS sales, consulting, management, and retail operations with over 20 years of experience. He possesses in-depth knowledge of the evolution of the oil and gas market in China, including insights into infrastructure, demand and supply dynamics, pricing strategies, and industry developments.

With a robust network and strong relationships across key industry players—including National Oil Companies (NOCs), traders, retailers, end users, suppliers, institutions, and government agencies—George has demonstrated an exceptional ability to manage large-scale projects and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders.

A highly motivated professional, George is known for his diligence and strong work ethic. He holds an MBA and is committed to continuous learning and development.

George is the newly appointed Director of APAC at NACS, where he brings his wealth of experience to drive growth and innovation in the region.

Use the drop-down arrows below to learn more about the awards and entry requirements.

Start Your Visa Process
 

We strongly recommend checking with the nearest embassy or consulate of China as early as possible, as visa processing times can vary. If a visa is required, please allow sufficient time for application and approval to avoid any travel disruptions.

Should you need an official invitation letter or supporting documentation from NACS as the event organizers, please do not hesitate to contact us. Visa invitation letters will be processed in batches by our partner company in China. We are unable to process invitation letters individually, and instead will be releasing them in groups.

Below are the four deadlines to submit your request, along with when you can expect to receive the final invitation letter:

• Requests sent before December 15 will receive the letter on or before December 22
• Requests sent before January 3 will receive the letter on or before January 10
• Requests sent before January 17 will receive the letter on or before February 2
• FINAL: Requests sent before February 2 will receive the letter on or before February 12

Submit Invitation Letter Request Here
 

Contact

For questions regarding hotel or travel accommodations, please contact:
Melissa Paul
Meetings and Events Manager
mpaul@convenience.org
+1 703.518.4208

Buyer Beware: Please be vigilant if dealing with companies or services other than the official NACS event headquarter hotel (noted above) that imply or claim an affiliation with the NACS. We have been made aware of other housing companies that may market to you or your company to book your guest rooms through their company at supposed significant discounts. Unfortunately, some past attendees (and exhibitors) have fallen prey to these companies and have either: lost significant deposit amounts; been relocated to an alternative hotel with little or no warning; not had the guest rooms they thought they had booked; or not received reservations at the hotel they had thought were confirmed. This has caused great hardships and significant financial loss to these companies and individuals. Reservations made through an agency other than the NACS official hotel event hotel link will be at your own risk. If you are contacted by another housing company attempting to sell hotel rooms, please notify NACS Management at mpaul@convenience.org.