The Pantry, Inc., a leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern U.S., today announced the Board of Directors of the Company has elected Thomas W. “Tad” Dickson, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors effective April 2, 2014. He replaces Edwin J. Holman who was Chairman of the Board since September 2009.
Dickson most recently served as Chairman and CEO of Harris Teeter, a leading regional supermarket chain in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States, from February 1997 up to the company’s sale to The Kroger Co. in January 2014, and as Chairman of its Board of Directors from March 2006 to January 2014. Prior to serving as Chairman and CEO, Dickson served in various executive posts at Harris Teeter (formerly Ruddick Corporation) and its former subsidiary, the textile company American & Efird, Inc., and as a director of Harris Teeter from February 1997 to January 2014. Dickson brings to the role of Chairman nearly two decades of operational and management experience in the supermarket industry, including more than 15 years as a public company director, and possesses broad supermarket and real estate knowledge, particularly in The Pantry’s core geographies.
Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, The Pantry, Inc. is a leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States and one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country. As of April 3, 2014, the Company operated 1,537 stores in thirteen states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express®, its primary operating banner. The Pantry’s stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, as well as fuel and other ancillary services designed to appeal to the convenience needs of its customers.
