Dive Brief:
- RaceTrac’s VP of IT John Lukas will retire at the end of 2025, a company spokesperson confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- RaceTrac is looking to hire its first-ever CIO in the wake of Lukas’ retirement, the company said in a statement. To support that position, the convenience retailer recently promoted company veteran Tyler Grubbs to VP of retail and digital technologies.
- Lukas’ retirement and RaceTrac’s creation of its CIO role comes amid the company’s ongoing tech transformation. Few convenience store retailers have built up their tech capabilities over the past few years as actively as RaceTrac, which continues to invest in new programs and services for its stores.
Dive Insight:
Lukas joined RaceTrac in 2020 and has been instrumental in several initiatives that “shaped the future” of the business, according to the announcement. Those have included transforming RaceTrac’s store technology infrastructure, revamping its loyalty app and back-end marketing systems, and spearheading the IT integration of RaceTrac’s 2023 acquisition of Gulf Oil.
Prior to joining RaceTrac, Lukas spent over two decades in senior technology roles across the restaurant and hospitality industries with companies such as Wendy’s, Arby’s and Popeyes, according to his LinkedIn bio.
“I’m truly humbled by the opportunity to assist RaceTrac with our technology transformation and most importantly working side by side with the best people in our industry,” Lukas said in a statement to C-Store Dive. “I'm confident that the transition will be smooth and our new IT leadership will bring new fresh experiences to RaceTrac that will support our growing needs.”
RaceTrac is working with executive search firm CIO Partners on the hunt for its first CIO, according to a LinkedIn announcement from the firm. Neither RaceTrac nor CIO Partners offered many details on the role — only that whoever takes on the role will “guide the company into its next era of innovation, focused on enterprise-wide technology vision, cybersecurity, data strategy and AI adoption,” according to RaceTrac’s statement.
Meanwhile, Grubbs has held numerous roles with RaceTrac over the past 15 years. Besides technology roles, he’s also worked in RaceTrac’s foodservice, business analytics and special projects divisions, according to his LinkedIn bio. Grubbs will report to the new CIO once that person is hired, RaceTrac said.
