WAWA, Pa. — Wawa has appointed Doug Martin as its new Chief Marketing Officer, marking a key addition to the company’s leadership team during a period of rapid expansion.
Martin’s appointment was first reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal, which cited an internal memo from CEO Chris Gheysens to employees and confirmation from a company spokesperson. Martin joins Wawa after nearly 20 years at General Mills, where he most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer and earlier held leadership roles across Cheerios, Yoplait, and the company’s North American Dairy unit. He also played a key role on the GWorks team, which focused on emerging consumer insights and disruptive growth strategies.
At Wawa, Martin will oversee brand, advertising, marketing, loyalty, consumer insights, and store design, reporting directly to Gheysens. “Doug is a proven marketer from General Mills who brings great experience and passion to grow the Wawa brand,” the spokesperson told the Journal.
His appointment comes as Wawa undergoes a major growth push, having expanded into six new states in the past three years and with plans to enter two more as it targets 1,800 stores by 2030. Alongside Martin’s hire, Wawa is also reshaping its marketing leadership by creating a new chief merchant role after the departure of Chief Customer Officer Alex Costabile. The new position will oversee sales and gross profit for all products.
In the memo, Gheysens said the leadership moves “align with best practices” and “better support our business and strategies,” adding, “I’m confident these are the right moves to position us for growth and to help our brand soar to the highest level.”
Martin’s career began outside the food sector, with earlier stints as a merchandiser for Gap Inc./Old Navy and a financial analyst for Walt Disney Studios. He holds an economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School.
