Ed Collupy is Vice President of Information Technology for The Pantry, Inc. convenience store chain based in Cary, NC, directs and manages all of their systems and technology efforts company-wide.  He has more than 30 years of retail technology experience in the grocery and convenience store channels, the past 13 years focused on bringing system solutions and leading The Pantry’s technology plans through their rapid growth from 400 stores to over 1675 stores today in eleven states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express(r) becoming the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States and one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country. In 2007 he was named by Convenience Store News as their Top IT Exec of the year. He also serves in advisory roles on NACS Technology Council and on various PCATS efforts.  Ed and his team are actively involved in implementing several large project initiatives following a major systems assessment and development of a multi-year roadmap that is being updated and continues to link The Pantry’s business and IT strategies. On a personal note, Ed has helped form a non-profit organization (www.Share-The-Blessings.org) that has built over a dozen wells and assisted hundreds of children through various educational initiatives in Uganda and has recently become associated with the Retail Orphan Initiative (www.retailroi.org) that . He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Suffolk University in Boston and attended Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program - Delivering Information Services.