Past NACS Supplier Board Chairman Ron Coppel Retires

Coppel spent more than a dozen years on various NACS boards and 27 years at Eby-Brown.

January 31, 2018

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – One of the most familiar faces in food distribution sales for more than 40 years is poised to begin a new chapter of his life. Ron Coppel, senior vice president of Eby-Brown, will retire on Feb. 2. “Ron joined Eby-Brown in 1990, and worked tirelessly to become one of the prominent faces and voices to the c-store industry, both to the publications and associations that influence our industry,” said Tom Wake, co-president of Eby-Brown.

Throughout his career with Eby-Brown, Coppel provided thought leadership as a member of the NACS Supplier Board from 1999 to 2009, and served on the NACS Board of Directors for two consecutive terms from 2004 through 2006. In 2006, he was named Supplier Board Chairman for a one-year term.

“I saw some of the greatest changes with the supplier board and its relationship to NACS during my tenure,” Coppel told NACS Daily. “The supplier board moved from a ‘piggybank’ into a much more sophisticated entity working for the betterment of the entire industry.”

Coppel pointed to Henry Armour coming on board as NACS president and CEO as one turning point for the supplier board. “Hank really moved forward and took the relationship between suppliers and retailers to a higher level, bringing the supplier board on as true partners,” he said. The partnership between the NACS Board of Director, the NACS Supplier Board and the NACS staff grew more fruitful during those years, with all parties working together on everyday advancements and issues, according to Coppel.

“I’m very proud of where the supplier board is today in representing the suppliers in this critical and important channel,” he added. “Suppliers want to continue working together to ensure there will always be convenience stores to meet the needs of consumers.”

While Coppel is retiring from his current position, he has plans to continue working, this time for his community. He currently is training to be a docent at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center (ILHMEC) in Skokie, Illinois. The ILHMEC is the third largest museum of its type in the world, after museums in Jerusalem and Washington, D.C.

“I’m a son of Holocaust survivors, and I want to help teach the next generations about prejudice and bullying, why it’s wrong and where it can lead,” Coppel said. “I hope to eventually branch out to speak to schools, libraries and civic centers about my parents’ experiences in the Holocaust.”

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