EG Group appoints BP veteran John Carey as chief executive of US business

EG Group has announces the appointment of John Carey as president and chief executive of EG America, effective from 1 October.

Carey has previously held senior executive positions including at BP plc and ADNOC Distribution, where as deputy CEO, he led its IPO on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange in 2018.

During his 10-year career at BP, his senior roles included chief executive of Castrol's global B2B business encompassing the aviation, industrial, marine and energy businesses, and the same position leading its Liquefied Petroleum Gas business, including operations in the US for both companies.

Carey has been a non-executive member of the EG Group’s board since November 2020, and as a result of the appointment, he will become an executive director on the board.

He will succeed George Fournier, who stepped back as EG America president in the fourth quarter of last year for personal reasons, before returning in the spring to support the business. The interim EG America president, Nick Unkovic, will revert to his role as chief legal and administrative officer of EG America.

“John is the ideal leader to drive forward EG America’s proven strategy,” Zuber Issa, co-founder and co-CEO of EG Group, commented.

“He has an excellent track record and knowledge of the sector, as well as a detailed understanding of the group’s ambitious plans for EG America. We look forward to working closely with John in his new role as we continue to execute our growth strategy with the support of US colleagues. I would like to sincerely thank Nick and George for their continued contribution and support.”

Carey commented: “EG Group is a great business, which I have learned first-hand. EG America has a strong platform and a clear strategy to drive growth at its market-leading sites through enhancing its convenience retail and foodservice offering across its much-loved banners. It will be a privilege for me to lead EG America and I very much look forward to meeting colleagues and key stakeholders. I can’t wait to get started.”

EG America is the Blackburn-based group’s largest subsidiary, both by revenue and sites, owning and operating 1,645 convenience store and fuel retail sites across 10 banners in 30 US states. In 2022, EG America delivered total revenue of $10.2bn.

EG Group has earlier this year announced plans to divest its UK and Ireland business to supermarket group Asda, also owned by the Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital.