2014 Technology Hall of Fame Inductees
Henry O. Armour
President & CEO, NACS
Inducted - Technology Hall of Fame, 2014
Hank Armour is the president and CEO of NACS in Alexandria, Virginia. He is only the third person to lead NACS in its 50-year history. Founded in 1961 as the National Association of Convenience Stores, NACS is the international association for convenience and petroleum retailing, representing more than 2,100 retail and 1,600 supplier member companies. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 146,000 stores across the country, posted $575 billion in total sales in 2010, of which $385 billion was motor fuels sales.
Hank has long been active as a volunteer for NACS, serving two one-year terms as NACS chairman of the board (2001-2003), as treasurer/chairman-elect and vice chairman of research &development, as well as chairman of the Technology and Education Sessions committees, and was a member of the association's Category Management and Future Study 2000 committees. He is currently serving on the NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council.
Hank grew up working in his family's retail automotive and wholesale transportation businesses, Armour Oil Company, from an early age pumping gas, selling tires, and polishing trucks. He managed the company's retail service stations and transportation facilities, negotiated labor contracts, oversaw the company's petroleum supply system, and handled government affairs, rising to the position of vice president and chief operating officer of the company in 1977.
In 1980, Hank joined The Standard Oil Company of Ohio where he served as manager of development strategies. Three years later, he founded West Star Corporation, which grew to include 59 NOW! convenience stores, truck stops and quick service restaurants in the Pacific Northwest until he sold the company in 2004. In 1988 Hank founded a second company, Epoch Corporation, which operated retail enterprises in California. In September 2004, he was selected to succeed Kerley LeBoeuf as NACS president and CEO of NACS beginning July 2005.
Hank earned a B.A. in economics from Stanford University in 1973. A year later he earned an M.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics, and then returned to Stanford to earn an M.B.A. in 1976 and a Ph.D. in economics in 1977. He is the father of two adult children, Elizabeth and Philip.
Jenny Bullard
Chief Information Officer, Flash Foods, Inc.
Inducted - Technology Hall of Fame, 2014
Jenny Bullard is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for The Jones Company, Inc. Working with the Executive team, Jenny provides technical leadership, vision and experience to the company. She is responsible for all software development and purchases, information systems, wide area networking, local area networking and disaster recovery/business continuity for the organization.
The Jones Company is the holding company for Flash Foods Inc., a chain of 172 convenient stores in Georgia and North Florida. Other corporations owned by Jones Company include Fuel South, a petroleum company: Distribution South, a wholesale distributor of grocery products and health and beauty aids: Walker/Jones Chevrolet, a local car dealership.
Jenny’s technology career of forty two years has all been with The Jones Company.
Jenny’s activities include: Chair of the National Association of Convenient Stores/Tech Conference for 2008, 2009 and 2010, Served as PCATS (Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards) Chairman of the Board for 2008 and presently member of the Conexxus Tech Council Committee.
Jenny also has received many honor and awards for her work in the convenience store industry. These awards are: The 2004 Convenience Store News Executive IT of the Year award, the 2005 Pinnacle Hall of Fame Award and jenny was recognized as one of The Top 25 Most Influential People in Convenience Store Industry in 2005.
Loring Perez
President, Chattahoochee Oil Company
Inducted - Technology Hall of Fame, 2014
Loring Perez is the president of Chattahoochee Oil Company based in Auburn, Alabama.
Loring has a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Fla., in 1973; did some post-graduate work at Drexel University in Philadelphia, but did not earn a degree; he is a certified management accountant and a certified financial manager and has passed the CPA exam; and he is bilingual, reading and writing Spanish fluently.
Previously, Loring spent 20 years (1986-2006) as vice president and chief financial officer of Spectrum Stores, a regional chain in Georgia and Alabama; prior to that was controller and chief accounting officer of Penn Dairies in Lancaster, Pa. (Penn Supreme had 75 convenience stores and manufactured dairy products). Before that, he was a commercial lender and chief financial officer of a day care franchisor
Loring and his wife, Gina, and four grown children and six grandchildren. In his leisure time he enjoys golfing when he can; unwinding while riding his Kubota tractor to cut grass and brush on his 23-acre property in Harris County, while smoking a good cigar.