Do You Hear What I Hear?
This week’s Convenience Matters podcast checks in with NACS President and CEO Henry Armour.
Sep 18, 2019
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—On this week’s episode of Convenience Matters, “Listening to the Industry,” NACS hosts Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives, and John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute, discuss industry changes with NACS President and CEO Henry Armour.
Armour has been heading NACS for the past 15 years and spends 70% of his time on the road talking to retailers across the country and around the world. “I’m a retailer in my DNA, … [working in the retail industry practically since birth], and one thing I’ve learned is that retailers don’t make any money sitting behind a desk. They make money in their stores, talking to their customers, understanding what their customers really want, talking to their employees on what problems there are and to solve those problems,” Armour said. “So when I became CEO of NACS, it was pretty natural for me to stay on the road to visit our members.”
He pointed out that NACS has built its global strategy network on a statement made by writer William Gibson: “The future is already here—it’s just not very evenly distributed.” “My travels do two things. First, [I want] to understand the big issues, particularly the strategic issues that our members in the states and around the world are facing so that NACS can help. … Second of all is to […see] where new things are happening so we can understand those new things and bring them back to our members around the world.”
Armour has seen many changes in the industry over the years. “For example, there’s an increased focus on fuels, … [we’ve] introduced a much higher level of executive education … [and] benchmarking data,” he said. “Today it’s thinking around the corner and really understanding the needs of the myriad segments of members that we have.”
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