Linda Toth, managing director of Conexxus, has been named the association’s new executive director effective April 1, 2026. Toth will succeed Gray Taylor, who will continue to support both Conexxus and NACS in a strategic advisory role through at least the end of the year.

Conexxus is dedicated to bringing together convenience retailers and suppliers to advance innovation and operational excellence. Its mission is to accelerate time to market, reduce innovation costs and enable the development of forward-looking solutions. Through strategic technology roadmaps, flexible standards and providing a collaborative environment, Conexxus helps its members navigate an evolving competitive retail landscape.

The roots of Conexxus go back over three decades to the NACS Technology Standards Project in 1995. In 2003, the Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS) was launched as a stand-alone standards entity to continue the Project’s work. PCATS was rebranded as Conexxus in 2014 to expand is role in addressing innovation and emerging issues such as data security, mobile commerce and payments.

“I am excited to lead an incredible organization at a moment when on-the-go commerce, connected vehicles and enabling technologies are converging to redefine how consumers engage with brands and services. As expectations evolve and AI plays an increasing role, Conexxus is uniquely positioned to enable innovation through collaboration, standards and interoperability. Over the past six years, Gray and I have worked closely to shape strategy and build a strong foundation that serves the broader industry. I’m delighted our partnership will continue,” said Toth.

“There is not a store in our industry that isn’t better because of the work of Conexxus. Gray Taylor has been an enormously influential leader in our industry, both in creating tools for the industry and in enhancing its reputation among the technology community. I’m excited about the opportunities before us to continue to strengthen the entire standards and strategic industry and innovation ecosystem and advance what he has built,” said Conexxus Board of Directors Chairman Varish Goyal, CEO of Union City, California-based Loop Neighborhood Markets. Goyal is also a vice chairman on the NACS Executive Committee.

“Linda has provided proven leadership in the advancement of technology, standards and payments strategy for our industry. Her experience as supplier and over 15 years as an executive at Conexxus assures the growing success of our organization. Linda will be an incredibly capable leader in the growth and value of Conexxus,” said Gray Taylor.

Toth has been engaged with Conexxus/PCATS since its inception, holding various leadership roles within the Device Integration Committee and its working groups. She joined Conexxus in 2011 as director of standards. In 2020, Toth was named managing director, overseeing all day-to-day operations of Conexxus. In addition, she advocates on behalf of the convenience industry at organizations including EMVCo, the Secure Technology Alliance and U.S. Payments Forum. Toth is also a facilitator for the Petro SIG at the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG). She graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in electrical engineering. Prior to joining Conexxus, she worked for seven years at Verifone’s Petro division developing POS software and for 15 years at OPW Fuel Management Systems designing automatic tank gauge and leak detection equipment and software.

In 2021, NACS and Conexxus developed TruAge®, the innovative, universally accepted age-verification system that makes the process more accurate to verify an adult customer’s age when purchasing age-restricted products. The age-verification program is free to retailers, consumers, and point-of-sale (POS) providers to ensure access and help facilitate the program’s broad adoption.