Art Sebastian
Art Sebastian is the Founder and CEO of NexChapter, a growth advisory firm helping convenience retailers, brands, and technology companies navigate the future of retail. With over 25 years of experience in retail and consumer packaged goods, he brings deep industry expertise and a passion for innovation.
Before launching NexChapter, Art spent five years at Casey’s, where he led Digital Transformation and built the company’s Omni-channel Marketing organization. He helped launch Casey’s loyalty program, e-commerce business, digital marketing efforts, and retail media network—laying the foundation for a modern customer experience. Prior to that, he led Digital Shopping and E-Commerce at Meijer and held leadership roles at Kraft Foods, shaping category and brand strategy. Beyond NexChapter, Art advises technology startups and serves on the Shoptalk Advisory Board. He was recently named Chairman of the C-StoreTEC Advisory Board, a new CSP initiative focused on advancing technology in convenience retail.
Frank Gleeson
Frank is actively involved in the convenience industry, NACS, and is the host of the popular Future of Convenience podcast. He is the Chairman of Irelands National Oil Reserve Agency and a trustee of IBEC which is Irelands Business representative group. Frank was recently President and CEO of Aramark Northern Europe, one of the largest integrated providers of food services, facilities management, retail operations and property services in the region. Gleeson joined Aramark in 2013 from Topaz Energy Group where he was retail director. Prior to that, he served in senior leadership positions for Statoil, O’Brien’s Off-Licenses, and began his retail operations career in Xtra-Vision Ireland.
Since starting out as a teenager in family restaurants and cafés, Gleeson has always placed a significant focus on the hospitality and customer-service side of business. He truly believes in the power of terrific customer experience, as well as the importance of on-the-job learning and development. Frank was the first European-based NACS Chairman and recipient of the 2019 NACS European Convenience Leader of the Year award.
Chris Hartman
Chris is currently the Vice President of Fuels, Advertising, and Development for Rutter’s convenience stores, in York, PA, as well as President of M&G Realty. He is the 11th generation to work in the family business, dating back to the founding of the Rutter’s farm in 1747.
Chris grew up working in his family’s stores, beginning at age 13, while also attending and participating in various convenience store industry events for over 20 years.
In 2016, Chris moved to Washington D.C. to attend George Washington University’s Global MBA program, receiving his master’s degree in 2018, with a concentration in Finance. In July of 2018, Chris returned to his roots, joining Rutter’s as Director of Fuels and Forecourt, later adding Advertising, Construction and Real Estate acquisition to his responsibilities with the company.
Chris currently lives in York with his wife, Hilarie. In his free time, he enjoys traveling the world and golfing. Chris and his father recently completed their 17-year journey to play the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World in 2023.
Josh Linkner
Josh Linkner, a New York Times bestselling author, is a rare blend of business, art, and science. On the business front, he’s been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which created over 10,000 jobs and sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s the co-founder and Managing Partner of Muditā (moo-DEE-tah) Venture Partners - an early-stage venture capital firm investing in groundbreaking technologies. Over the last 30 years, he’s helped over 100 startups launch and scale, creating over $1 billion in investor returns. He’s twice been named the EY Entrepreneur of The Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.
While proud of his business success, his roots are in the dangerous world of jazz music. He’s been playing guitar in smoky jazz clubs for 40 years, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and has performed over 1000 concerts around the world.
His experiences in both business and music led him to become one of the world’s foremost experts on innovation. Josh is the co-founder and Chairman of Platypus Labs, a global research, training, and consulting firm. Today, he’s on a mission to help leaders Find A Way(TM) through creative problem-solving, inventive thinking, and ingenuity.
Chef Jason Lord
Chef Jason Lord has been a prominent figure in the Massachusetts culinary scene since high school. With a career spanning decades, he has held Executive Chef positions at esteemed establishments, including East Coast Grill, Formaggio South End, and Casa Blanca. Jason then spent five years at Season to Taste, a renowned farm-to-table catering company dedicated to fostering relationships with local farmers and fishermen to deliver the freshest seasonal ingredients.
As the Corporate Chef for Alltown Fresh®, Jason leads menu development, supply chain strategy, staff training, quality assurance, and cost management. He also plays a key role in brand representation, engaging in media appearances, interviews, podcasts, and live culinary demonstrations to showcase Alltown Fresh’s commitment to fresh, high-quality food.
Outside the kitchen, Jason enjoys grilling in his backyard and attempting to convince his two daughters to join him for fishing trips in Westport, MA.
Stephanie Sikorski
In late 2024, Stephanie was appointed NACS vice president of strategic initiatives and CEO of TruAge. In this newly developed role, Stephanie oversees the advancement and growth of new industry-wide initiatives across NACS, which currently supports a growing portfolio of solutions, services and companies like TruAge, the NACS Foundation and PROSPR.
Stephanie has been with NACS for 11 years. Previously, she served as NACS VP of marketing, leading the development of integrated marketing campaigns and executing strategies to effectively grow its global brand and advance convenience and fuel retailing. Stephanie also oversaw the reimagination of the NACS Foundation and development of its 24/7 Day, an annual celebration (July 24) of first responders that now features more than 80 brands and represents 30,000 convenience stores nationwide.
Richard Taylor
Richard is a Senior Manager, currently playing a role as Digital Lead in Accenture’s North America Fuels and Convenience Retail Practice and has spent the last ~14 years working with 20+ fuels and convenience retailers around the world. Richard is deeply passionate about Retail Site System Technology and focuses on empowering his clients with value-driven initiatives that position them to seize future opportunities and stay ahead of emerging trends. His experience stretches across site technology, large scale deployments, site support, AI / Generative AI and payments spanning Company Owned & Operated, Branded Wholesalers, Dealer, and Franchisee models.
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses build their digital core, optimize their operations, and accelerate revenue growth —creating tangible value at speed and scale - with over 780,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. To learn more about Accenture, please visit www.accenture.com.
Dan Trotzer
As Executive Vice President of Industry at GSTV, Dan Trotzer leads corporate strategy and development with hardware and network partners, key retailers and industry stakeholders. With 15+ years’ experience in forecourt media, Dan has helped drive the growth and maturation of the sector as a senior leader at Outcast, and led the integration of Verifone Pump Media and Gas Station TV to merge and become what is now GSTV.
Dan lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State University, and enjoys a broad range of adrenaline inducing outdoor activities.
