DALLAS — Sunoco LP has named Joe Kim as CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2018. As previously announced, Kim has been president and COO since June following the announcement that current CEO Bob Owens would retire on Dec. 31.

Prior to his most recent appointment, Kim was executive vice president and chief development officer for Sunoco from October 2015 to June 2017, where he was responsible for all business development and merger-and-acquisition activities across the company.

Previously, Kim held the position of COO at Pizza Hut, Plano, Texas, where he was responsible for management of all operations, with an emphasis on speed to market and restaurant excellence. Before that, he worked for 15 years at Valero Energy Corp., San Antonio, where his most recent position was senior vice president of strategy and growth. He also held roles in field and franchise operations, strategic planning, merchandising, development and investor relations. He began his career with Arthur Andersen Business Consulting.

Owens announced his retirement in June. He will continue to serve as a consultant to Dallas-based Sunoco LP through 2019. He joined Sunoco in 1997 and has been president and CEO since 2012.

“I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Bob for his more than 20 years of service to Sunoco. We are grateful for his strategic leadership and wish him well as he embarks on his new endeavor,” said Matthew S. Ramsey, chairman of Sunoco LP. “Bob is leaving Sunoco in good hands. Joe is an exceptionally talented leader, and he is poised to successfully complete the transformation of the partnership from a retail-based business into the premier U.S. fuel supplier.”

Sunoco is a master limited partnership (MLP) that operates 1,346 convenience stores and retail fuel sites and distributes motor fuel to 7,898 c-stores, independent dealers, commercial customers and distributors in 30 states. Its parent, Energy Transfer Equity LP, owns Sunoco’s general partner and incentive distribution rights (IDRs).

Sunoco is selling about 1,100 company-operates sites to 7-Eleven Inc. in 18 states—approximately 110 in Florida, 450 in New York and 550 in Texas—for $3.3 billion, the companies announced in April. Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven is also acquiring the trademarks and intellectual property of the Stripes c-store brand and the Laredo Taco Company foodservice brand, which Sunoco gained when it purchased Susser Holdings Corp. for about $1.9 billion in 2015.

Sunoco ranked No. 6 on CSP’s 2017 Top 202 list of the largest convenience-store chains in the United States.