Corporate Governance

Arie Kotler has served as the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of ARKO Corp. since the closing of the merger transaction with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II on December 22, 2020. Mr. Kotler also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of GPM Investments, LLC (“GPM”), a role he has held since September 2011 and GPM’s President, a role he has held since April 2015. From November 2005 through December 2020, Mr. Kotler served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arko Holdings Ltd., a publicly traded company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and GPM’s controlling owner until it merged with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II to form ARKO Corp. Prior to November 2005, Mr. Kotler served as the Chairman of GPM after forming GPM and initiating and managing the acquisition of fas mart and shore stop in 2003. From 2011 to 2014, he served as a director, and from 2012 to 2014 he served as Chairman, of Malrag 2011 Engineering and Construction Ltd., a publicly traded company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Since 2011, Mr. Kotler has served as Chairman of Ligad Investments & Building Ltd., a corporation which was publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange until it was taken private in January 2013, and which is currently 50% owned by ARKO Corp.

Michael J. Gade has served as a Senior Advisor to the Global Consumer Group of Boston Consulting Group since 2007.^. Previously, he served on the board of the following corporations: the Crane Group, Inc., a 4th generation family office; Rent-A-Center, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCII) (now Upbound Group), which offers a lease-to-own solution for furniture and other durable goods; MACS, Inc, a private equity owned convenience chain and gasoline distributor in the Mid-Atlantic region; One Network, Inc, a leading software developer in the area of Demand Based Supply Chains as part of a Total Logistics solution; and Strive Group & Strive Logistics, a promotional group serving the consumer products industry. Additionally, Mr. Gade was the Senior Partner and Chairman of Coopers & Lybrand’s Retail and Consumer Practice (now PWC) as well as a senior executive at 7-Eleven, having been responsible for merchandising, marketing and business development.

Andrew R. Heyer served as President and Director of Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II from its inception through its merger with ARKO Corp. in 2020. With over 40 years of experience in investing in the consumer and services industries, he has advised large private equity firms on leveraged finance strategies. Mr. Heyer was previously an officer and director of Haymaker Acquisition Corp. I before its merger with OneSpaWorld Holdings (NASDAQ: OSW) in March 2019, where he continues to serve on the board.  He is also a board member of The Lovesac Company (NASDAQ: LOVE), a branded retailer of furniture and Biote (NASDAQ: BTMD), a  provider of preventative healthcare. Currently, Mr. Heyer is also the CEO of Mistral Equity Partners, a consumer-focused private equity firm he founded in 2007 and he is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Haymaker Acquisition Corp. IV, a special purpose acquisition company. Prior to Mistral, he was a Founding Managing Partner of Trimaran Capital Partners, a $1.3 billion private equity fund from 2000 to 2007. From 1995 to 2007, he was vice chairman at CIBC World Markets Corp. and co-head of the CIBC Argosy Merchant Banking Funds. He also founded and was Managing Director of The Argosy Group L.P. from 1990 to 1995 and served as Managing Director at Drexel Burnham Lambert and in various roles at Shearson/American Express from 1984 to 1990.

Sherman K. Edmiston III, has served as the Managing Member of HI CapM Advisors, Ltd, a firm providing strategic and financial advice to corporations, private equity firms and credit funds, since August 2016. In addition to our Board, Mr. Edmiston is currently serving on the board of directors of the following corporations: ARKO Corp. (Nasdaq:ARKO), one of the largest operators of convenience stores and wholesalers of fuel in the United States; GTT Communications, Inc., a multinational provider of telecommunications and internet services; Key Energy Services, Inc., a leading provider of oilfield services in the Permian Basin and California; and Real Alloy, the market leader in third party aluminum recycling and specification alloy production. Mr. Edmiston is also a director on several private company boards. Mr. Edmiston formerly served on the boards of Arch Resources (NYSE:ARCH), Continental Global Material Handling, ConvergeOne, Harvey Gulf International Marine, HCR ManorCare Inc., and JL French Automotive Castings Inc. From November 2009 through December 2015, Mr. Edmiston served as managing Director of Zolfo Cooper LLC (now Alix Partners), where he provided financial and operational advisory services to corporations and investment funds. Mr. Edmiston holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. 

Steven J. Heyer, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II since inception through the closing of the merger transaction, has over 40 years of experience in the consumer and consumer-related products and services industries, leading a range of companies and brands. Mr. Heyer has applied his experience and analytical skills in a variety of leadership positions across diverse industry groups, including broadcast media, consumer products, and hotel and leisure companies. Over the past eight years, he has been acting as an advisor and director to, and investor in, several private companies across the consumer subsectors of health and wellness, restaurants, technology, marketing services and technology and furniture. From its formation until it completed its business combination with OneSpaWorld Holdings (NASDAQ:OSW) in March 2019, he was an officer and director of Haymaker Acquisition Corp. I. Since its business combination, he has served as Vice Chairman on the board of directors of OneSpaWorld Holdings. Mr. Heyer’s operating experiences include: leading the turnaround of Outback Steakhouse as an advisor (from 2010 to 2012); as Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (from 2004 until 2007); as President and Chief Operating Officer of The Coca-Cola Company (from 2001 to 2004); as a member of the boards of Coca-Cola FEMSA, and Coca-Cola Enterprises (all from 2001 to 2004); as President and Chief Operating Officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and a member of AOL Time Warner’s Operating Committee (from 1994 to 2001); as President and Chief Operating Officer of Young & Rubicam Advertising Worldwide (from 1992 to 1994); and before that spending 15 years at Booz Allen & Hamilton, ultimately becoming Senior Vice President and Managing Partner. For the last five years, Mr. Heyer has served on the boards of Lazard Ltd, Lazard Group, and Atkins Nutritionals Inc. as well as investing in a private capacity in early stage and venture consumer and consumer media companies.

Avram (Avi) Friedman is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Business at Columbia Business School since 2021. From 2001 to 2020, Mr. Friedman worked at Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (“Davidson Kempner”), a global investment management firm with approximately $37 billion in assets under management and over 500 employees across seven global offices. Mr. Friedman was a Managing Member of the firm from 2006 through 2020.  During his time at Davidson Kempner, Mr. Friedman co-managed the firm’s credit portfolios, including distressed investments, high yield, convertible arbitrage, real estate and structured products. In addition to portfolio management, Mr. Friedman also served on various investment and risk committees.  Prior to Davidson Kempner, Mr. Friedman was a Vice President at Nomura Securities Special Situations Investment Trust from 2000 to 2001 and a Director in the Special Situations Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities LLC from 1995 to 2000. Previously, Mr. Friedman was a Director of GPM Investments, LLC (ARKO Corp.’s main operating subsidiary) from 2014-2020. 

Laura Karet has over 30 years of experience in the grocery and consumer products industries. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of WhoBrew, LLC, a franchisee of the fast-growing 7 Brew Brand.  From 2012 to 2023, Ms. Karet served as the Chief Executive Officer of Giant Eagle, Inc. (“Giant Eagle”), one of the nation’s largest retailers with approximately 32,000 team members and $11 billion in annual sales. She also served as the chairman of Giant Eagle’s board of directors. From 2000 to 2012, Ms. Karet served in a variety of executive roles at Giant Eagle, including leading merchandising, store operations, the convenience store business, the pharmacy business and strategy.  Laura started the extremely successful GetGo convenience store brand and grew it to approximately 275 stores. During her tenure at Giant Eagle, Ms. Karet was noted for a variety of innovations, including enhancing manufacturing and fresh food production capabilities that led to expanded product offerings. She also focused on applying next generation technologies such A.I., robotics, and automation to retail, e-commerce, customer behavior and supply chains to streamline operations in stores and online. Prior to joining Giant Eagle, Ms. Karet was a marketing executive at the Sara Lee Corporation from 1997 to 2000 and a brand manager at the Procter & Gamble Company from 1990 to 1997, where she oversaw such household names such as Secret antiperspirant, Folgers coffee, and Crisco. Ms. Karet is a Trustee for the Brookings Institution, a Trustee for the Committee for Economic Development, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.