NACS Convenience Summit Asia

Henry O. Armour, Ph.D., is Chairman Emeritus & CEO International 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.

Armour previously served as president and CEO of NACS from July 2005 to December 31, 2025, 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.

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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!

Selected experience

• Led the international expansion strategy and implementation for a major CVS chain in China
• Designed the strategy and developed the growth program for an international leisure dining QSR in 
• China
• Redesigned the retail business and led the transformation for a food company in China entering the retail sector, covering branding, product design, store operations, network planning, and franchise/partnership model development
• Developed the strategy and growth program for a leading yogurt QSR in China
• Led multiple operations projects, including procurement and store operations, for various food and beverage QSRs
• Drove growth transformation and new product development for a major food company in China, achieving a 25% CAGR over two years
• Built a health snack business from the ground up, achieving top 1% T-Mall Store performance within six months
• Led the growth transformation for a major plant-based drink company in China, delivering 25% growth within one year

Background

• Xin is an adjunct professor at the Hong Kong University of Technology and Science. He teaches SC courses at MIT, NYU, and HKUST, and has published articles in leading SC journals, including Supply Chain Management Review
• Xin earned a Ph.D. in supply chain management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tom Kilroy co-leads McKinsey’s North America retail practice and directs our client service in the Grocery, Drug & Convenience retail space in the US. Tom comes from a family of retail operators – his family still runs an independent grocer in central Kansas – and he has 20+ years experience serving retailers and restaurants on strategy, operations, digital and growth topics around the globe. He has served retail market leaders in the US, Canada, South and Central America, Spain, and Japan.

Neville Manekshaw is a cyber security specialist based in London, UK, with over 14 years of IT consulting and cyber experience. In his current role as AIG Cyber Risk Advisor, he provides cyber risk advice and recommendations to help secure client business operations. As a member of the client facing Incident Management Team, he provides guidance to ensure the necessary resources and response efforts are in place to improve client cyber resiliency.

Prior to joining AIG, Neville was a cyber security manager in several Big6 firms (PwC, EY and RSM), partnering with financial services clients to help enhance their cyber maturity. He started his career with Samsung in technology development and spent 2 years working for HSBC Global in 2017 as a consultant in the largest regulatory programme for financial crime risk.

Neville has experience of handling live cyber incidents as a critical response analyst for Worldpay, and holds a first-class MSc in Information Security, certified by the UK National Cyber Security Centre.

Kevin Peng serves as the President of CCFA. Since joining the Association, he has initiated and established the China Retail Technology Innovation Center, and led the launch of a series of industry initiatives, including the Digitalization Consensus for the retail sector, the Enterprise Digital Maturity Assessment, and the Industry Digitalization White Paper. He has also advocated for a new type of supplier–retailer relationship and is committed to supporting Chinese retail and restaurant chain brands, as well as service providers, in expanding into overseas markets.

Melody began her insurance career in 2002 as a Financial Lines underwriter with AIG Insurance Company in Shanghai, and then became Financial Lines underwriting manager with Chubb Insurance Company in Shanghai. She moved to Hong Kong in 2009, and was in charge of Commercial D&O and Financial Institution practice for Asia with Liberty International Underwriters. In 2014, she joined Pembroke Syndicate 4000 at Lloyd’s, then set up and ran Pembroke’s service company in Hong Kong, i.e. Ironshore Hong Kong, specializing in mergers & acquisitions and financial risks. She joined Lockton Greater China Professional and Executive Risk (ProExec) team in May 2020.

Melody possesses a wealth of experience in Directors and Officers Liability (D&O) insurance, Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance, Crime, Cyber, as well as Digital Asset Custodian Risks Solutions etc., and has served a wide range of industries including web3 and blockchain, financial institutions, fund management, technology and e-commerce, biotech and pharmaceutical, manufacturing and etc. She also demonstrate in-depth expertise in product design, coverage and policy drafting.

I currently lead the China Customer Success Retail team at NIQ, responsible for driving the development and dissemination of retail industry trends and channel evolution insights to support sustainable business growth for partners in the FMCG and T&D sectors

With 12 years of tenure at NIQ, I previously served as the Analytical and Insight Lead for CPG clients, delivering data-driven market insights and strategic advisory to multinational and local enterprises across the FMCG landscape.

Prior to NIQ, I built a decade of foundational experience in the retail industry, with hands-on expertise spanning assortment management, private label development, and store operations. This frontline background has equipped me with a practical, ground-level perspective on retail transformation and a results-oriented approach to enabling scalable business development.

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.

Professional Experience

• CEO, FamilyMart China (CVS Familymart)
• Chief Merchandising Officer, FamilyMart (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
• General Manager, Beijing Dingquan Convenience Store Co., Ltd.

Educational Background

• MBA, Berkeley College, USA
• Master’s Degree, Chubu University, Japan
• Bachelor’s Degree, Nihon Fukushi University，Japan

Honors & Awards

• 2025 Outstanding CEO in the Consumer Sector - Forbes China
• 2024 Consumer Sector Leading Icon - Forbes Chin

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In 2018, Mr. Ren Zhongwei joined Dmall as Partner and Chief Strategy Officer. With over 20 years of industry experience, Mr. Ren brings deep expertise across retail, technology, and ecosystem development, along with senior management experience in Fortune Global 500 companies.

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
[email protected]
+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 [email protected].