DALLAS / TOKYO — December 22, 2025 — 7‑Eleven’s North American business is heading into a major leadership transition just as its Japanese parent, Seven & i Holdings, accelerates a broader turnaround and prepares the groundwork for a future U.S. listing.
Joe DePinto, who has led 7‑Eleven, Inc. (SEI) for more than two decades, will retire at the end of 2025, the company said in a statement. Seven & i has appointed two internal leaders—SEI President Stan Reynolds and SEI Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Doug Rosencrans—as interim co‑CEOs, effective the same date, while the board runs a search for a permanent successor. [1]
The move is more than a routine executive handoff. It lands at a pivotal moment for Seven & i, which has publicly committed to pursuing an IPO of its North American convenience-store business by the second half of 2026, while also pressing for faster operational improvement in the U.S. to support growth, returns, and investor confidence. [2]
What Seven & i announced about DePinto’s retirement
In its Dec. 19 announcement, SEI said DePinto will retire “effective as of the end of this year” after more than 20 years as CEO. Reynolds and Rosencrans will share the top job on an interim basis until a new CEO is appointed. [3]
Seven & i also said its board is working with a “globally recognized executive search firm” as part of a comprehensive succession process—an indicator that the next CEO selection is likely to be treated as a strategic inflection point rather than a quick internal promotion. [4]
DePinto, in comments included with the announcement, described leading 7‑Eleven for two decades as the professional honor of his life and thanked franchise owners, employees, and partners for helping expand the brand. [5]
Interim co‑CEOs: who is Stan Reynolds, and who is Doug Rosencrans?
Seven & i’s decision to name interim co‑CEOs—rather than a single caretaker chief executive—signals a desire for continuity across both strategy/finance and day‑to‑day operations during the transition.
Stan Reynolds: finance, strategy, transformation—and Speedway integration
Reynolds has served as President of SEI since 2023. In that role, he oversees a broad portfolio spanning finance, accounting, tax, M&A, strategy and transformation, real estate, procurement, IT, and the integration of Speedway—one of the biggest acquisitions in the company’s modern history. [6]
Prior to becoming president, Reynolds spent years in senior finance leadership, including an extended tenure as chief financial officer (beginning in 2005, per the company’s biography). [7]
Doug Rosencrans: operations leader for 13,000+ stores
Rosencrans has been Executive Vice President & COO since 2022, responsible for strategic planning tied to store growth and profitability across more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, according to the company. [8]
Before becoming COO, Rosencrans led franchise operations and held roles that included leadership of Canada, fuel operations, and field leadership positions. He joined SEI in 2010 and previously worked at Mobil Oil and ExxonMobil across multiple functions including retail operations, pricing, and strategy. [9]
Why this leadership change matters now: a U.S. turnaround tied to IPO ambitions
Today’s leadership transition is unfolding against an explicit corporate objective: Seven & i wants to unlock value and accelerate growth by taking its North American convenience-store business public in the U.S.—a plan the company has said it intends to pursue by the second half of 2026. [10]
Seven & i has framed the IPO as a way to create two public companies (while retaining majority ownership), give SEI greater autonomy, and increase financial flexibility for faster investment. [11]
On December 22, additional reporting underscored a key point: the timetable depends on performance. Seven & i CEO Stephen Dacus said the timing of an IPO will be determined by execution and market conditions, emphasizing that the company has not yet fully realized SEI’s potential in the U.S. [12]
Dacus outlines what a “faster turnaround” looks like in the U.S.
According to reporting published Dec. 22, Dacus pointed to several operational levers Seven & i believes can improve the U.S. business and support IPO readiness:
- Growing private‑brand sales (higher-margin owned brands) [13]
- Expanding large‑format stores, with much of a planned 1,300‑store expansion weighted toward formats that can deliver more profit and sales [14]
- Reducing costs, particularly because selling and administrative expenses per store were described as higher than key competitors [15]
- Improving fuel profitability, including extracting more value from fuel sales and supply-chain participation, with a stated target of adding about $400 million annually to EBITDA by fiscal 2030 [16]
The same Dec. 22 report noted mixed near-term performance signals in the U.S. business, including an operating profit increase over a six‑month period through August, alongside lower total chain sales amid inflation pressures. [17]
DePinto’s legacy: expansion, scale, and major deals that reshaped U.S. convenience retail
DePinto became CEO in 2005 and has been closely associated with 7‑Eleven’s transformation into a dominant North American convenience retailer. [18]
Seven & i credited him with leading expansion of the company’s international and U.S. store network and with driving digital and logistics transformation efforts. [19]
During his tenure, SEI also executed major acquisitions that expanded the footprint and reshaped its fuel-and-convenience strategy:
- Speedway: 7‑Eleven acquired the Speedway chain from Marathon Petroleum in a $21 billion deal that closed in 2021 (with related antitrust scrutiny and divestiture requirements at the time). [20]
- Sunoco convenience stores: Seven & i agreed to purchase 1,110 Sunoco convenience stores for $3.3 billion in 2017, significantly expanding SEI’s U.S. presence. [21]
A U.S. SEC filing has described DePinto as having led major acquisitions including Speedway and the Sunoco stores deal. [22]
What customers and franchisees may notice—and what likely won’t change overnight
For everyday customers, the immediate leadership change is unlikely to translate into overnight shifts at store level. SEI’s day-to-day operating machine remains in place, and both interim leaders are long-tenured insiders.
But the strategic emphasis behind the scenes is becoming clearer: Seven & i has repeatedly signaled that food, digital engagement, loyalty, delivery, and operational discipline are central to the North American playbook going into 2026 and beyond.
In the same retirement announcement, SEI highlighted its scale—more than 13,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada—and its portfolio of brands and formats beyond the core 7‑Eleven banner, including Speedway, Stripes, Laredo Taco Company, and Raise the Roost. [23]
The company also pointed to its loyalty and digital ecosystem, including 7Rewards and Speedy Rewards (together described as having more than 100 million members) and the 7NOW delivery app, which it said typically delivers in about 30 minutes depending on conditions. [24]
What happens next: CEO search, IPO runway, and investor expectations
Seven & i has made two things explicit:
- A permanent CEO search is underway with the support of an executive search firm. [25]
- The IPO plan remains intact, targeted for the second half of 2026—though leadership is now tying timing more tightly to tangible turnaround progress and market conditions. [26]
That combination sets up 2026 as a high-stakes year for SEI. A new CEO—whether internal or external—would likely be expected to do three jobs at once:
- Prove that SEI can lift margins and improve execution in a competitive U.S. convenience landscape
- Advance a store strategy that increasingly blurs into foodservice and “quick meal” retail
- Position the business for public-market scrutiny, with a credible growth narrative and disciplined capital strategy
For now, Reynolds and Rosencrans will be the faces of operational continuity—while the board looks for the longer-term leader who can bridge a legacy built under DePinto with Seven & i’s next phase: a more autonomous North American unit, potentially trading on a major U.S. exchange, and pressured to show it can grow faster than it has in recent years. [27]
References
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