PHOTO GALLERY: Industry unites to celebrate 2025 Future Leaders in Convenience + Car Wash winners
Industry leaders from across Canada came together to celebrate the inaugural winners of the Future Leaders in Convenience + Car Wash Awards (FLICC) during Day 2 of the C-store IQ Conference at The Convenience U CARWACS Show.
It was a fantastic morning of inspiration and insight, capped off by the awards presentation.
Now in its second year, the FLICC Awards highlight and honour the talent and achievements of exceptional leaders under the age of 40 at the time of nomination.
The morning event kicked off with breakfast. Jack Armstrong, the voice of the Toronto Raptors, delivered an unforgettable keynote that was inspiring, funny and moving. He spoke about leadership, mentoring and the importance of connecting with authenticity. Armstrong moved the audience to tears when he shared that his own hero isn't a basketball superstar, but rather his mom, an Irish immigrant who worked hard and raised her family with a sense of purpose, ambition and empathy for others.
The morning was all about leadership. Following Armstong's keynote, Dr. Janice Rudkowski, Assistant Professor, Ted Rogers School of Retail Management, led an enlighteninging panel discussion—Leadership in the Age of Artificial Intelligence— with Myles Gooding, partner, global consumer markets advisory leader, PwC Canada; Leslie Gordon, director of proprietary brands, Circle K; and Tali Remennik, Certified Professional Forecaster, data scientist, CEO, Granularity. Then, Lisa Covens, senior vice-president with Leger, discussed the economy and consumer sentiment.
After the networking break, the morning shifted to an unplugged version of the conference, as the building temporarily lost power due to a nearby hydro issue that impacted about 1,500 homes and businesses near the International Centre.
The Social Impact Panel—Leading by Example: Impacting the Bottom Line and Beyond—lived up to its name by rising above the power issue for inspiring discussion about social change in business and in life. Leila Fenc, executive director of the Petro-Canada CareMakers Foundation, was joined by Rick Rabba, president of Rabba Fine Foods, Catherine O’Brien, senior vice-president, corporate affairs, regulatory, government relations and sustainability, Nestlé Canada and Kathy Murphy, viced-president of public affairs, Coke Canada Bottling.
READ: Conference and speaker coverage here
The morning capped off with the presentation of the Future Leaders in Convenience + Car Wash Awards.
"We founded the FLICC Awards to highlight and honour the talent and achievements of exceptional leaders under the age of 40 at the time of nomination. After discussions with many of you here in this room today, we saw an opportunity to recognize and champion this as a dynamic industry where people foster meaningful relationships and rewarding careers," said Michelle Warren, editor + associate publisher, Convenience Store News Canada + OCTANE. "And we are not alone in that vision: We welcome two new sponsors to the FLICC program: 7-Eleven Canada as a Silver Sponsor and Bubblegum Kids as a Bronze Sponsor. Thank you not only for supplying the snacks this morning, but also for supporting this exciting new award and helping us build this event."
Attendees rallied together to cheer on on the Future Leaders in Convenience + Car Wash winners, who were invited to the stage to accept their award.
READ: PURPOSE AND PASSION: 2025 Future Leaders in Convenience + Car Wash
