Senior Director, Business Development & 7-Ventures

▶ Who we are

Imagine working in a place where continuous improvement and innovation is celebrated and rewarded; where fast-paced, high-impact teams come together to positively drive results for one of the largest & most iconic brands in the world.

As the only rapidly growing retailer, you may know us as your friendly neighborhood store. You probably know our familiar name, have seen our pervasive logo, and have tried our highly sought-after products, such as Slurpee® and Big Bite®. “Brain Freeze” is a 7-Eleven registered trademark for our 53-year old Slurpee® and with over 77,000 stores globally (more than any other retailer or food service provider), we sell over 14 million a month.

But there’s a lot more to our story and much more left to be written. We are transforming our business, ensuring we are customer obsessed and digitally enabled to seamlessly link our brick and mortar stores with digital products and services.

At 7-Eleven the entrepreneurial spirit is in our DNA and has been ever since our inception 90+ years ago. It’s what drove us to invent the convenience industry in 1927 by envisioning how a simple ice dock could provide household staples such as milk and eggs to better serve the needs of our customers.

Today we are redefining convenience and the customer experience in big ways...we are fundamentally changing our culture and we want talented, innovative, customer obsessed, and entrepreneurial people like you to come make history with us.

▶ How we lead

At 7-Eleven we are guided by our Leadership Principles.

1. Be Customer Obsessed
2. Be Courageous with Your Point of View
3. Challenge the Status Quo
4. Act Like an Entrepreneur
5. Have an “It Can Be Done” Attitude
6. Do the Right Thing
7. Be Accountable

Each principle has a defined set of behaviors which help guide the 7-Eleven team to Serve Customers and Support Stores.

▶ About This Opportunity

The Sr Director of New Business Development (NBD) and 7-Ventures leads a team of Business Developers focused on generating new sources of revenue growth and portfolio company managers that source, perform diligence and assess potential deal investment of equity from 7-Ventures into emerging brands and high growth start-ups.

For Business Development, the Sr Director will focus and lead the team on identifying disruptive consumer businesses (products and services) that can scale to drive new revenue when partnering with 7-Eleven or provide new sources of revenues based on trends, ingredients, packaging and Social Media that enhance the 7-Eleven product assortment and elevate the convenience retail experience.

For 7-Ventures, the Sr Director will lead a team that pursues for investment, attractive high growth and emerging brands that can benefit from 7-Eleven’s distribution and large store count. This also includes portfolio management actions such as rotation and diversification. These early-stage companies will have access to the 7-Eleven business system and use 7-Eleven stores as incubators.

The Sr Director NBD will also be the Business Development point-person within 7-Eleven and to external parties to build testing and investment pipeline. This may include Oversees travel/tests and pilots in 7-Eleven stores. Executes equity placements and manages 7-Ventures portfolio.

For Store Innovation, the Director will lead a team that identifies and develops new physical store platforms that drive revenue and new customers for 7-Eleven. This will include building proof of concept tests through a structured testing process along with supporting the movement of successful proof of concept tests into further stages of expansion.

Other responsibilities for the Sr Director NBD include, but are not limited to:

• Lead NBD team to evaluate and manage pipeline of emerging brands opportunities to identify testing candidates and investment prospects: attend conferences, conduct initial screening calls, meet with early-stage businesses, manage brand database, etc

• Oversee launches of emerging brands tests in 7-Eleven stores: follow structured process to test product, price, placement, geography, etc. and work with merchandising, operations, logistics and small vendors to initiate tests, analyze results, report performance, and define expansion plans

• Leverage existing network and build new network in the emerging brands community to ensure 7-Eleven continues to be perceived in the marketplace as a differentiated retailer invested in partnering with innovative companies

• Lead Store innovation team to develop a robust pipeline of innovating projects. Develop collaborative partnerships with internal stakeholders to increase the pace and quality of innovation within 7-Eleven, and ensure innovation tests integrate within stakeholder business plans.

• Develop executive level presentations that define strategy, approach, and results for various audiences (7E senior leadership, Strategic Partner, Townhalls). Help define the Strategic M&A strategy based on internal and external research, emerging trends and competitive insights

• Strong understanding of 7-Eleven strategy, long-term goals and ability to evaluate opportunities.
• Driver of excellence sets high expectations for self and team.
• Comfortable with white space thinking and ability to navigate ambiguity.
• Proficient in Microsoft Suite – Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word. Must also be familiar with PowerBI, and syndicated data such as IRI, Nielsen, and Spins.
• Education: Master’s Degree
• Leader with ability to influence without authority; leverage strong communication and presentation skills across all levels.
• Relevant External Experience: 8 – 10 years; Consulting, Strategy, Private Equity, Business Development or General Management experience for Fortune 500 company, Franchise, Tech, Retail, or CPG Experience, Financial Modeling, Entrepreneurship or Emerging Brands experience a plus
• Relevant 7-Eleven Experience: Emerging Brands, 7-Ventures, Business Development, Innovation