We are very proud of Liza Salaria’s recognition as a CSNews’ Top Women In Convenience Senior Level Leader. This well-deserved award stems from Liza’s inspirational leadership in our industry.

Liza brings innovative leadership to Impact 21, inspiring teams to think differently and push the boundaries of traditional industry norms. She taps into her expertise in small format merchandising, marketing, branding, and business strategy to help companies realize their business objectives. Liza’s deep background in merchandising, paired with her knack for strategic thinking, enabled her to lead merchandising and marketing strategies that resulted in achieving sales and gross profit goals. Liza extends her expertise, particularly in fresh food program development, as a NACS speaker.

Liza also brings a wealth of knowledge to wholesale distribution, with over ten years of experience leading wholesale procurement teams in three distribution verticals: grocery, foodservice, and convenience. She has led supply chain projects for companies transitioning from third-party wholesale to internal supplied – establishing procurement teams, wholesale programs, and financial structure.

Liza graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration in Finance. She attended Janus Pannonius University in Pecs, Hungary, for International Studies. A lifelong learner, Liza continuously pushes her industry knowledge to keep strategies and capabilities relevant in modern environments. She has attended many business leadership programs, including:

• NACS Executive Leadership Program
• Woman’s Executive Leadership Program – Duquesne University
• Toyota Lean Six Sigma Program
• Carnegie Mellon Executive Leadership Program – Carnegie Mellon University
• Western Wisconsin Technical College – Instructor of Merchandising Management
• Mount Aloysius College – Instructor of Introduction to Marketing
• Western Wisconsin Technical College – Marketing and Advisory Board

Liza is a trailblazer in the convenience store industry, earning executive roles long before it was commonplace. As a result, she is a trusted advisor to many convenience store executives in her role at Impact 21 as Practice Lead for Category Management and Foodservice.

Liza is a visionary and strategic executive leader in the retail industry with a proven record of accomplishment in developing successful merchandising, marketing, and operational strategies from inception to implementation. She is a creative, analytical thinker, highly regarded for building strong vendor partner relationships and generating innovative merchandising solutions that achieve quantifiable results.

Liza is a sought-after speaker due to her expertise, particularly in fresh food development at industry conferences including NACS. Liza is THE resource for Category Management training at NACS – as she leads the NACS Certified CM Training course.

Liza is a leader and champion for others. Impact 21’s GO TO person on all things. She is part of our Diversity Focus Group and a leader on the Impact 21 Leadership Team. She was part of the in augural C-Store Women (CSW) event and year-long journey, dedicated to empowering women in the industry, boosting careers, and instilling confidence through valuable experiences and practical success strategies.

Liza believes in playing an active role in improving living conditions for those that are most in need. She founded Zaden, connecting the world to the exquisite hand-embroidered clothing designs of Kashmir, India one stitch at a time. She also offered her time and talents to the following organizations:

• Big Brothers/Big Sisters
• Food for the Poor in Port au Prince, Haiti
• Giant Eagle Woman’s Resource Business Group
• No More Kids with Cancer

Congratulations Liza on this amazing honor and recognition!