2022 Star Women in Convenience winner: Sherry Landry

Director of software operations

Bulloch Technologies

 

How did you get into this business? 

I was managing two Petro-Canada sites in the Brantford, Ont., area where Bulloch provided the point-of-sale system.  I was communicating with Bulloch on various issues with the software that were occurring and gave them enough details to be able to correct them in an upcoming release. Eventually Bulloch asked if I would like to come to their office and review a version before it went into production. It was supposed to be a two-month contract – and that was 25 years ago.

What do you like most about your job?

Having a great Bulloch team to work with who are passionate about the product that we provide to our customers.

What's your career highlight or proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement is driving by convenience stores and gas stations on virtually every street corner of Canada knowing that Bulloch is installed in almost every one of them.

What are you most proud of during the last year? 

We did a pretty good job keeping our team healthy and safe during the pandemic and running an equipment-intensive QA [quality assurance] department from the team’s homes has been both a challenge and significant accomplishment.  We not only survived, we thrived. 

What excites you most about the future of this channel? 

From a tech perspective, convenience and fuel is a complex industry, and we are one of a small handful of POS companies who can help our clients transition to whatever the future holds. We’re expanding to the U.S., and our prospects for growth are exciting.

How has the business changed since you started?

We have gone from 10 employees to 75. We have grown our market share from 5% to over 65%, against some significant competition.  We’ve become masters of technology change for the industry.  We’ve had so many North American firsts including introduction of EMV pay at the pump and loyalty programs. We are a major contributor to industry standards.  Now, we’re handling mobile payments, self-checkout, scan and go, and many other industry-changing innovations. We embrace change.

What challenges do you think lie ahead for your sector?

We are experts at transaction processing. The goal is to simplify the process from the customer to the cashier to the manager to the territory manager all the way to head office.   The challenge is to meet everyone’s expectations of simplicity and efficiency during the evolution of today’s technologies in our industry.

What is your management or leadership philosophy or approach?

Respect, hard work, teamwork, knowledge, and encouragement.