September 04, 2025

Wrapping Up a Fantastic PDI Connections Live 2025 in Denver

by Bethany Allee

Whew! We just wrapped up an amazing PDI Connections Live 2025 event in Denver. If you were able to join us, THANK YOU! I hope the event was everything you hoped for. And, if you couldn’t join us this year, we hope to see you soon. Stay tuned for more virtual and regional Connections Live events throughout the year.

Before I recap my thoughts about this year’s conference, I have some exciting news about 2026. For the first time in eight years, Connections Live will be back in my home state of Texas! Mark your calendars to join us from August 23 to 26, 2026 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center.

Even better, you can pre-register for Connections Live 2026 to stay current with the latest news and get special perks such as exclusive early access before registration officially opens in 2026.

Peaking at the summit?

Now, back to Connections Live 2025. The week was anything but rocky in Denver (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). Just like previous years, my favorite part was learning from some of the smartest people in the fuel and convenience retail industry.

The amount of collaboration and information sharing at this event is second to none. I treasure all the enduring relationships I’ve made and look forward to making new connections every year.

A networker’s dream scenario

As you would expect at an event with the name of “Connections Live,” one of our goals is to provide a place for bright minds to interact and share ideas. Those who know me well realize that I’m not shy about diving into a good conversation. So I loved all the expanded outlets for personal networking opportunities, including:

Coffee Talks: In these sessions, small groups of participants selected a topic and focused on overcoming specific challenges related to that topic.
Speed Networking: In these sessions, attendees paired up and took five minutes to get to know each other 1:1 before moving on to even more pairings. These sessions are my new favorite part of Connections Live—the conversations are incredible.
Customer User Groups: In these formal sessions, participants got a chance to share best practices, meet the PDI product teams, and provide valuable input on the PDI solution roadmap.

Convenience City at the heart of the Expo

This year’s Expo was built around the hub of “Convenience City,” where attendees could take a “day-in-the-life” journey across the fuel and convenience industry. The Expo included over 30 sponsor booths, each featuring the latest technologies and breakthrough solutions. I want to extend a sincere but loud shout-out to our sponsors. Without their support, we simply couldn’t host such a comprehensive and action-packed event.

Keynote Speaker Brittany Hodak on creating “superfans”

Our keynote speaker this year was Brittany Hodak, customer engagement expert and author of the book “Creating Superfans.” She kept the audience riveted while sharing her experiences of working closely with top-tier brands and global entertainers. Most of all, she motivated us with humor, advice, and practical guidance on how to create unique customer relationships built on loyalty and trust.

Brittany’s keynote on customer engagement and retention was fantastic. And speaking of loyalty, we launched our latest best-practices guide during the conference. You can download your own copy of “Lasting Loyalty: A Guide to C-Store Success” here.

A deep dive into fuel trends

One of my personal highlights was sharing the stage with our in-house celebrity, GasBuddy Guy Patrick De Haan (he moonlights as the VP and Head of Petroleum Analysis at PDI Technologies). We dove into one of everybody’s favorite subjects: the fuel trends of today and tomorrow. It was fun to discuss the many macroeconomic influences and regional variations that shape our industry as we celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the GasBuddy platform.

“Women in Convenience” session

Another personal highlight was the “Lessons in Leadership for Everyone from Women in Convenience,” an extremely inspirational and informative session led by Linnea Geiss, PDI COO, and Lisa Blalock President, bp US Convenience & Mobility. This was such a great way to hear about the impressive experiences from some of the top innovators in our industry. Lisa is truly an inspiration for all of us!

The tailgate party to end all tailgate parties

On Monday, we hosted our third annual Game Night, which just keeps getting bigger every year. The food and drinks were flowing, and the Ping-Pong Tournament amped up the competitive vibe that livened up the entire venue.

On Tuesday, we hosted our Big Night Out customer appreciation event. I’ll confess that I’m not a huge football fan. But I love, love, love a good tailgate party! Our team threw an amazing party, so thanks to everyone who rocked the theme and wore their favorite team attire. Sending a big virtual high-five to everybody!