When Julie Jackowski was growing up near Des Moines, Iowa, her mom would occasionally take her to the local c-store, hand her a quarter and let her go crazy. That quarter was like a silver-plated ticket to heaven because it allowed her to purchase a handful of her favorite nickel candies.

That’s when Jackowski first realized that c-stores were something special. Fast-forward nearly five decades and Jackowski once again feels like that lucky kid in the candy store. As the newly named chair at NACS—and the second-ever female chair of the convenience store industry’s most powerful trade group—she is eager to lead the industry and its diverse membership into a new era of sustained growth, improved cooperation and willingness to take on challenges.

“I want to help NACS members figure out how to get the most out of NACS,” said Jackowski, who is senior vice president and corporate general counsel at Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s, one of the nation’s largest c-store chains with more than 2,100 stores in 16 states. “I want to know what I can do to make NACS more innovative.”

Her move into the pinnacle of NACS executive leadership comes as the c-store industry continues to grapple with several substantive issues—from finding and retaining labor to understanding changing regulations on the sale of tobacco and other products to adopting new technologies. And all of this less than a year away from a national election that could impact the industry for years to come.

Jackowski is a legal and human resources expert, but yes, not a guy—a fact that she’s dealt with throughout her career by basically ignoring her gender, she said. “If I’m a role model, I hope it’s because of the good work I do—and that I just happen to be female,” she said.

That said, she does recognize that a female NACS chair might be able to bring certain things to the table that a male chairman simply can’t—like a woman’s perspective on what consumers expect from their shopping experience.

Listening to Women

Jackowski knows better than just about anyone that the c-store industry is a male-dominated business. Perhaps getting more females into leadership roles would help, she said, if for no other reason than because women make 70% to 80% of all retail purchase decisions.

“Sometimes it seems that we’re still aiming to serve that same 25- to 35-year-old male construction worker demographic,” she said, which would be extremely self-limiting for an industry that’s seeking growth and new opportunities. “Perhaps we need to look at things more through the female lens.”

This is where not only Jackowski’s gender but also her business background come in. Nine different departments report to her at Casey’s, and she has a boatload of experience in the operations side of the c-store business.

We need to really support female leaders and show them how to network better with CEOs.

One of her immediate goals at NACS is to work more closely with the supplier board on areas such as how to promote to—and appeal to—the female consumer. For example, if women are less inclined to get out of their cars and pay inside after purchasing gas, what are some engaging ways that NACS members can entice them to come inside the store—or engage them to purchase other things while they’re at the fuel pump?

Then, too, there’s the issue of NACS better-engaging as an organization with female leaders. “We need to really support female leaders and show them how to network better with CEOs. I know a ton of female leaders are out there, but I don’t always see them at NACS events, and I’m not sure why. I hope that we can better serve that population,” she said.

Jackowski vividly remembers a couple of moments early in her career when her instincts won out. Perhaps her most memorable was years ago when she was interviewing for the job of legal counsel at Casey’s. She was in a rush to get to the interview with the CEO, and when she walked in the front door of the corporate headquarters, she looked down at her feet and spotted a navy shoe on her left foot and a black shoe on her right foot—a mistake, not a fashion statement. She decided to simply plow ahead and do the interview, which apparently was a wild success. She got the job.

She recalls what sold her on accepting the offer. During the interview, former CEO Ron Lamb told her: “Julie, you need to understand that if you come to work for Casey’s, an attorney is no better than our part-time donut maker.”

That’s a grounding moment for any c-store leader.

Another moment of clarity came years later in a meeting with Casey’s executives who were discussing the buying habits of the female consumer. Jackowski happened to be the lone female executive sitting in on that meeting—and she was eager to share her point of view but also curious to see where the discussion would go if she kept quiet. She recalls leaning over to the man in front of her and whispering, “Let’s see how long it takes until they ask me what I think.”

It took 17 minutes.

She encourages other women not to do what she did in that case. Instead of sitting back and waiting to be recognized, she said, it’s almost always better to be heard. “Sometimes when you’re the only female in the room, you have to just speak up.” That’s one reason why she recently started a women’s affinity group at Casey’s—to encourage all women to have their voices heard.

“But when you speak up, make sure you have something valuable to say,” she said.

She also encourages all NACS members to speak up more to NACS about their needs. After all, she said, the majority of NACS members are small, independent entrepreneurs. We want them to recognize how they may benefit from utilizing the many member services NACS offers through membership, she said.

Advocating for the Industry

Since Jackowski comes from a legal background—and this is where she is most comfortable and knowledgeable—her biggest focus this year likely will be in the world of government advocacy and regulation. “There are so many regulatory challenges,” she said. So being proactive on any issues related to government regulation is first and foremost for her.

At the same time, she said, NACS must come face-to-face with the industry’s labor issues. The historically low unemployment rate has made it especially hard for many c-stores to find and keep qualified employees. The key, she said, is c-stores actively promoting themselves as genuine career opportunities with long-term employment potential for young folks coming out of school. For this to succeed, she said, employers must detail a clear employee pathway to promotions. “Many of us are behind in that,” she said.

I want to help NACS members figure out how to get the most out of NACS.

Attracting and keeping good team members requires more than competitive wages and benefits. In fact, there are low-cost things that employers can do to be more appealing to workers. For example, a more flexible work environment is especially appealing to many young employees. And at Casey’s Support Center, they recently evolved to more casual attire so staff can dress more comfortably.

Willing to Innovate

Another key challenge for c-stores in an ultra-competitive environment, she said, is the need to create at least one key way to stand out to consumers. For Casey’s, she said, that’s the chain’s made-from-scratch delivery pizza. In most small towns where Casey’s is located, it’s regarded as much as a pizza parlor as a c-store. And, yes, as the fifth largest pizza chain in the U.S., it has to keep innovating with its pizza offerings. For example, the chain recently rolled out Midwest barbecue pizza, which is topped with pulled pork and corn. At the same time, it has a taco pizza and a breakfast pizza.

At the other end of the eating spectrum, Jackowski said all c-stores will have to find ways to keep improving their healthier offerings. Some are doing this by allowing customers to customize their orders. Casey’s, for instance, recently rolled out a build-your-own salad program and has added grilled chicken to the menu alongside crispy chicken.

Jackowski also strongly suggests that c-stores bundle better-for-you foods into a healthy grab-and-go section to make it easier for customers seeking healthier options. These sections can offer bundled products such as grilled chicken sandwiches, baked chips and water in place of fried chicken sandwiches, conventional chips and soft drinks.

When she walks into a c-store, the first thing she looks for: Is it clean? Next, she notices if the clerk acknowledges her arrival by saying hello or offering to help. And finally, she checks out the restrooms to see if they’re operating and tidy.

Jackowski is always seeking out new ideas. When she walks into competitors’ stores, she typically tries out products that aren’t sold at Casey’s.

As the mother of four (adult) kids, she understands what younger consumers value. Casey’s recently updated its app and has moved to more online ordering. It’s selling more fresh food, and it’s even trying to get Casey’s to be more selfie-friendly.

Meanwhile, because Casey’s is based in Iowa and has so many stores there, it’s seeing lots of presidential candidates pass through. That gives Casey’s—and other NACS members—a chance to tell their story to someone who might someday be president.

That’s part of the NACS In Store program, which brings together retailers and members of Congress to learn about stores in their districts. Jackowski hopes to build on the program this year.

In the meantime, the new NACS chair has kept her sense of humor—even in the nation’s sometimes contentious political environment. Jackowski jokes about the savvy ways that Casey’s—or any other c-store—might want to promote food items this election year. For example, she suggested, when it comes to selling traditional chicken wings, try this offer: Choose a left wing—or a right wing—we serve them both!