Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores named Tim Langley-Hawthorne as its first chief technology officer, effective immediately, the company announced on Monday.
In this role, Langley-Hawthorne is responsible for aligning technology with the company’s strategy, driving product development and fostering tech innovations, including artificial intelligence. He will report directly to Love’s President Shane Wharton.
“Innovation is one of Love’s core values and we know Tim is passionate about leveraging technology and fostering a culture of innovation that will play a role in advancing our strategic priorities,” Wharton said in the announcement.
Langley-Hawthorne brings more than a decade of tech leadership experience to the job. He joins Love’s from car rental company Hertz, where he served as EVP and CIO since 2021, according to his LinkedIn bio. At Hertz, he oversaw the company’s global technology platforms, field and payments technologies, cybersecurity and data and analytics.
Before Hertz, Langley-Hawthorne worked in technology leadership roles for IT services and consulting firm Hitachi Vantara. He also served in several VP and SVP roles with financial services company Western Union earlier in his career.
Love’s has made strides on the tech front in recent years, having surpassed 100 electric vehicle chargers, added a new digital payments method and incorporated gamification technology encouraging workers to engage with customers in new stores.
“Love’s has a long history of innovation and focus on the customer,” Langley-Hawthorne said. “I’m thrilled to join the technology team and deliver on Love’s strategic growth and innovation goals by enhancing customer experiences.”
The announcement comes about six weeks after the travel stop company named its first chief marketing officer, Patrick McLean.
