At ANUGA Fair 2025, we had the great pleasure of hosting an inspiring Executive Breakfast with Jan Starken, Managing Director of Shell Convenience Retail/Carissa, and Richard Moore, CEO of Mercuri Urval Group.
In a live interview moderated by Florian Schmitz, Partner and Global Head Consumer & Retail at Mercuri Urval, leaders from across the international food industry gathered to discuss the future of the convenience retail business beyond traditional gas stations—and the leadership it takes to drive that change.
As mobility patterns evolve, the classic gas station model is under pressure.
“Every new electric vehicle is a reason for making retail stations obsolete” said Jan Starken, who oversees more than 2,500 sites across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
His mission is to redefine the purpose of retail stations and turn them into destinations where food, coffee, and service quality become key differentiators under the Shell Café brand.
“Our focus is on food and food service as the new reason for customers to visit us” Jan shared. “That’s where the next growth in convenience will happen.”
Jan identified two fundamental trends shaping the next decade:
At Shell, this transformation is already visible, with strong investment in fresh food, coffee, and food service formats designed around customers’ changing daily rhythms.
Building on Jan’s perspective, Richard Moore, CEO of Mercuri Urval, reflected on what this transformation means for leadership effectiveness in retail. He noted that successful leadership can never be viewed in isolation—it is always defined by the specific business and market context.
“Now, as in the past, leader success is context specific – each leader performs or not in a unique situation” Richard explained. “So, retail leadership success cannot be predicted through establishing standardised competency frameworks, but requires rigorous analysis of organisational context, situation, and specific role requirements. However, today’s successful retail leaders do share some capabilities with each other and with their predecessors: strong execution, interpersonal and envisioning skills.”
From self-checkout rollouts in Switzerland to AI-driven performance tools, automation is becoming central to how Carissa manages efficiency and customer service.
“Automation is not optional” Jan emphasized. “It’s a structural necessity to manage costs in our channel, but it must go hand in hand with a great customer experience.”
He pointed to 'smart stores' and hybrid formats as the next step, combining technology and human service in new, flexible ways.
A question familiar to every retailer: how much freedom should local stores have?
“Consumers want reliability—that’s what makes McDonald’s successful” Jan said. “We’re now ensuring the same consistency and reliability across Shell shops before we allow for local adaptations.”
This disciplined approach ensures that the Shell brand remains instantly recognizable while still allowing regional flavors to enhance the customer experience over time.
Over the past four years, Carissa has grown from 47 to 141 employees—supported by Mercuri Urval—and with that growth came a need for new structures, new processes, and above all, a new culture.
Together with his leadership team, Jan defined two key cultural principles:
“Nothing in retail can be done alone” Jan noted. “The willingness to collaborate inside and outside our company is crucial.”
For Dr. Anja Behrens, Partner at Mercuri Urval, the session was not just about retail transformation, but about leadership in action: “What truly resonated with me was the conversation around effective leadership—envisioning the future and bringing that vision to life in every store, creating security and consistency for teams, and building trust across the organisation.”
“Jan and MU share a long-standing, trusted partnership” she added. “It’s inspiring to see how Shell’s vision for the convenience channel comes to life.”
Jan’s bold prediction: “Ten years from now, tobacco will have disappeared from shelves. Food and coffee will be the center of gravity, and Shell Café will exist beyond retail stations, expanding our footprint into new spaces.”
Building on that thought, Florian Schmitz, Partner and Global Head of Consumer & Retail at Mercuri Urval, emphasized that the transformation of the convenience channel also redefines what great leadership looks like: “Across all segments of our industry, one truth stands out: transformation demands leaders who can lead themselves first. Resilience, clarity, and the ability to create vision under pressure are what separate those who react to change from those who drive it.”
Richard Moore concluded the discussion with a perspective from decades of leadership research and client work: “When we investigate leader effectiveness in transformational settings, relevant track record comes to the fore” he said. “In order that leaders have the bandwidth to transform their organisation, they need to be well-performing in the core of their current role. Whilst often cited transformational attributes of leaders do matter, the basic expertise in the role they have is a pre-requisite for success in times of change.”
He summarised the essentials for retail leaders as follows:
A heartfelt thank you to Jan Starken and Richard Moore, and to all our guests for joining us in Cologne for an unforgettable morning full of insights, energy, and shared vision.