James Nov-Dec 2023 web - Flipbook - Page 25
ince assuming her role
as president of Atlanta-based RaceTrac, Inc.
in February of 2019,
Natalie Morhous has
quickly left an indelible mark on the
storied legacy of the nearly 90-yearold family-owned business.
Under her leadership in the past
four-plus years, RaceTrac has unveiled innovative new store types,
welcomed franchisees into the fold
and expanded its presence into
three additional states— an impressive tally that’s set to rise again
before the year draws to a close. It’s
thanks to these remarkable achievements, among a myriad of others,
that Morhous earlier this year
earned the esteemed recognition
from CSP Daily News as the 2023
Retail Leader of the Year (RLOY).
And it’s important to note that Morhous is the first woman ever selected as CSP Daily News’ RLOY.
Morhous has been, in RaceTrac
terminology, a “TracFanatic” since
birth. A third-generation leader in
the family-owned business that
started in 1934, her RaceTrac career
began in earnest in 2012 following
several years of work as a consultant
in Washington, D.C., and a stint as
an intern with General Mills while
studying for her Master of Business
Administration.
It was during this time, while
taking notes on executive-level
strategy conversations and crafting
cereal retail strategies for Walmart
For Morhous, the RLOY accolade
represents more than just a nod to
successful market expansions or
innovations at the store level. It acknowledges a convenience-retailing
executive’s outstanding leadership,
innovation, and perseverance—and,
according to Morhous, the ability of
a leader to shape and positively influence others’ professional journeys.
“Throughout my career to date,
the experiences I’m most proud
of are those where I’ve impacted
professional journeys and had the
privilege to mentor individuals personally,” shares Morhous. “There’s
an unparalleled sense of reward in
There’s an unparalleled
helping others grow and watching
sense of reward in helping
them achieve their goals.”
others grow and watching
Beyond Morhous’ commitment
to nurturing and developing talent
them achieve their goals.
at RaceTrac, her approach to leadership— characterized by active
— Natalie Morhous
listening, continuous learning, and
taking decisive action— is equally
stores that Morhous discovered her
apparent and vital in the day-topassion for retail. From there, she
day operational decision-making
started at RaceTrac, where she got
that continues to speed RaceTrac
to try her hand at many different
forward. Her leadership style has
parts of the business: she initially led been instrumental in the rapid and
strategy, special projects, and innosuccessful expansion and integravation initiatives before making the
tion of the RaceTrac brand in the
transition to oversee the company’s
Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee
fuel transportation affiliate, Energy
markets in recent years. Further, it
Dispatch. It’s thanks to this non-linhelped facilitate the launch of new
ear trajectory that Morhous finds
store models, including travel cenherself equipped with the knowledge ters and drive-thru locations across
and experience crucial for success in these regions.
her current role, which culminated in
recognition as RLOY.
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