'Leading the Way' Podcast: Joe DePinto, CEO of 7-Eleven

The 7‑Eleven brand is known around the world, and their iconic products, such as the Slurpee, are a big part of the American culture. Joe DePinto, CEO and the second CEO to ever appear on CBS’ Undercover Boss, gives us a peek behind the tremendous success of this 90-year old leader of convenience. Joe shares with us how innovation, customer focus, and community involvement have contributed to building a company brand that is synonymous with opportunity. Although many may be familiar with the principles of servant leadership, the team at 7-Eleven models, adheres to and has created a culture around it.  

In this podcast, you’ll hear about 7-Eleven’s focus on being a responsible corporate citizen and contributing to the betterment of our youth. Joe shares with us how they are staying ahead of the disruption of technology and its impact on the retail industry by using it to create a “frictionless” experience for their next generation of time-constrained customers. Truly, an impactful, insightful and powerful interview that drives an appreciation for the convenience 7-Eleven has provided us all in a time where time seems to be evaporating.  

Key Soundbites  

• On customer focus – “Today’s customers are more demanding and discerning because of the information that they have. We try to make sure that the organization, and everything we do, thinks about the customer first. I honestly believe it’s part of 7-Eleven’s DNA.”  
• On agility – “In today’s environment, agility is just critical. You have to hire for it, you’ve got to train for it, and you’ve got to make sure that it’s happening for your organization. If you’re not agile, you’re not going to be innovative and you’re not going to survive in today’s business world.”  
• On diversity – “It’s getting different points of views. I’m talking about diversity, not just race, but income levels, different ethnicities. We want to hear from everybody, not only on the team, but from our customers. And we use that information to regionalize our product assortment that’s tailored to the diversity of the customer.”  
• On the next generation – “Our time-pressed customers - the millennials, in particular – they want it now, and they believe that they can get it now. Millennials are 50% of the 7-Eleven customer base in the United States. They need us because we’re convenient and our organization believes in evolving digitally to provide it to them.”  
• Advice to young professionals – “Support and serve the folks that you work with. I believe by doing that, you attain the credibility to lead.”  

About Leading the Way  

Leading the Way is a weekly radio show and podcast series that highlights influential business leaders and leading people practices from i4cp. Co-hosted by Emmy award-winning television anchor and radio host, Scott Murray, and i4cp’s Angel Carlton, the show features interviews with respected business leaders from the world of business, sports, entertainment, healthcare and philanthropy.  

The show airs live every Sunday at 4 pm CT on KLIF 570 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, the global audience is invited to listen live on www.klif.com  and the weekly podcast debuts on iTunes or Google play and the i4cp website the following week.