7-Eleven Hires Ex-Dr Pepper Exec as CEO

Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. (Tokyo) has hired Mauricio Leyva as CEO of 7-Eleven Inc., its North American convenience store business, effective Aug. 1. Levya’s priorities will include “leading the company’s next phase of growth, working closely with SEI’s leadership team to elevate the customer experience, strengthen the store network, advance operational excellence and innovation, and drive sustainable, profitable growth,” Seven & i said in a news release.

Leyva has more than two decades of experience in the consumer products industry. From 2020 to 2024, he served as Group President of Keurig Dr Pepper, during which time the latter brand grew to become the second-largest carbonated soft drink brand in the U.S. Prior to that, Leyva held senior leadership roles at Lala Mexico, AB InBev and SABMiller.

The business unit Leyva will run is based in Irving, Texas, and has about 12,000 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. and about 1000 in Canada, making it the largest such chain in North America. In recent years, 7-Eleven has been working to counter increased competition from a variety of fast-growing national and regional c-store chains, including fending off a failed merger proposal from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard (operator of the Circle K brand).

“Mauricio brings a wealth of executive leadership experience at global consumer goods companies and a proven track record of leading business transformations,” said Steve Dacus, President and CEO of Seven & i Holdings. “His appointment represents an important milestone as the company accelerates toward our transformation program ‘North Star’, and we are delighted to welcome Mauricio to the Seven & i family to lead SEI into this next stage of growth.”