Lou Mola, loss prevention (LP) manager for Wawa, will take on the role of vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA), succeeding Wawa’s Rich Wood, who has resigned his position on the PFMA board of directors.
Mola currently chairs PFMA’s LP committee as well as LP committees for the Delaware Food Industry Council and the New Jersey Food Council. During his tenure, Mola was instrumental in getting legislation passed to combat organized retail crime. He also worked with industry, law enforcement and government leaders to enact legislation creating the first dedicated retail crimes prosecutor in the U.S. Prior to joining Wawa in 2013, Mola served as the investigations team leader for Target Corp. and led a 44-person team focused on organized crime.
“PFMA is excited to have Lou Mola take on this leadership role as PFMA vice chairman,” said Alex Baloga, PFMA president and CEO. “He is an effective leader for our loss prevention committee, and I know he will bring the same energy to our board of directors. Our thanks to Rich Wood for his leadership and service to the PFMA board for the past six years.”
PFMA also appointed six new board members due to the retirement of Rich McMenamin, McMenamin Family ShopRites and the departures of Lisa Silberman, A.J. Silberman & Co.; and Gary McGuirk Jr., Liberty USA, who sold their companies to Eby-Brown.
The new board members are: Patrick Burns, owner, Burns Neighborhood Markets, Philadelphia; Brent Cotten, senior director, global customer and industry affairs, The Hershey Co., Hershey, Pennsylvania; Gary Gloeckl, VP of sales, A.J. Silberman, a division of Eby-Brown, Indianola, Pennsylvania; Scott Kolat, SVP of sales and business development, Eby-Brown, Naperville, Illinois; James Pulsifer, senior manager, state relations and regulatory compliance, Altria Group Distribution Co., Richmond, Virginia; and Robert Sincavich, president, Team Sledd, Bridgeport, Ohio.
“Our sincere thanks to Rich McMenamin, Lisa Silberman and Gary McGuirk for their ideas, friendship and support through the years,” Baloga said. “We wish them all the best.”
PFMA is a statewide trade association, advocating the views of nearly 800 convenience stores, supermarkets, independent grocers, wholesalers and consumer product vendors. Its members operate more than 3,200 stores and employ more than 150,000 Pennsylvania residents.
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