A Look Back at 2022: A Year of Upward Mobility in Franchising

Since March 2020, there have been countless media stories about the Great Resignation, where frustrated workers have been quitting jobs in droves. You would never know it’s an issue in franchising. The industry saw countless new jobs, hires, and promotions in 2022. And we know it firsthand because we have reported about it on FranchiseWire with our HireWire series. 

In the International Franchise Association‘s 2022 Franchising Economic Outlook, there was a reported 775,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.2 million direct jobs. Franchising creates jobs every day — not just locally — but also at the corporate level. 

No matter your position in the franchise industry — founder, consultant, marketing, field operations, or sales — there are endless opportunities for upward mobility. Franchise industry professionals are hired or promoted seemingly every day.

Here is a compilation of notable franchise industry jobs, new hires and promotions from 2022. This lengthy list proves that upward mobility is alive and well in franchising. 

December 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Ashley Love was announced as the first-ever CFO for Clean Juice, a leading juice bar franchise.
• The United Franchise Group (UFG) promoted Cory Hibbard to president of Graze Craze and Andrew Titus to president of Fully Promoted.
• Patrick Cunningham was appointed vice president of development for Little Caesars.  
• Donatos Pizza announced several new promotions. Tony Capuano was named vice president of franchise operations; Cheryl Bergsman was announced as the pizza brand’s first-ever vice president of field training and ops excellence; and Brian Thompson was tapped as vice president of company operations.  
• Sarah Hamp became CMO for FullSpeed Automotive.

November 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Mathnasium, a math tutoring franchise, named Kevin Shen CDO.
• Celebree School named David Floyd vice president of franchise development. 
• Smalls Sliders, a Louisiana-based burger concept, appointed Maria Rivera as CEO.
• Item 9 Labs Corp., a cannabis dispensary franchisor and operator, named Mike Weinberger CEO.
• David Tarr was appointed vice president of franchise development for Best Life Brands. 
• Jessica Will was tapped as vice president of operations for The Dog Stop.
• Christine Piecyk was promoted to director of operations of the International Franchise Professionals Group (IFPG).
• Melissa Smith became the chief human resources officer for Ascent Hospitality Management. 
• Adam Klaers was appointed executive vice president of Roy Rogers Restaurants.
• Elias Reyna was named chief people and diversity officer for Papa Johns. 
• BRIX Holdings tapped Sherif Mityas as CEO. Dawn Petite was also appointed president for Friendly’s Restaurant Group.
• Central Bark named Tim Weiderhoft vice president of franchise development. 

October 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Julia Berman was named director of franchise development for skoah facial shop.
• RE/MAX announced Shawna Gilbert‘s promotion to senior vice president of global development. 
• Franchise FastLane appointed Joshua Emison as director of franchise development for Bloomin’ Blinds.
• John Taylor was named director of franchise development for Garage Kings.
• Scooter’s Coffee tapped Luc Langevin as vice president of development. 
• Thomas Welter was named president of Empower Brands.
• CertaPro Painters appointed Adam Biedenbender as vice president of franchise development.
• Marc Richard was tapped as senior vice president of operations for College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Moving. 
• UFG promoted Taylor Gregory to director of marketing. 
• BrightStar Care named Andrew Ray COO. 
• Stefanie Lee was announced as CFO for TITLE Boxing Club. 
• Kevin Giudici joined German Doner Kebab as finance director. 
• Joel Bulger was announced as the first-ever CMO of Capital Tacos. 
• Chuck E. Cheese Entertainment named Mario Centola executive vice president and COO. 

September 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• SweatHouz tapped Dr. Rachelle Reed as chief health and science officer.
• Matt Otskey was named executive vice president of operations of IFPG.
• Franchise Supplier Network appointed Dean Hatzitheodosiou as chief sales officer.
• Rob Lancit was tapped as vice president of franchise development for Stratus Building Solutions.
• BrandONE announced Heather McPherson as vice president of franchise development. 
• Krista Olsen was appointed director of operations for Moms on the Run. 
• Gerardo Flores was named CDO of Marco’s Pizza. 
• Donatos Pizza tapped Jodie Conrad as CMO. 
• Batteries Plus announced a trio of promotions. Joe Malmuth was promoted to chief franchising officer; Vic Daher was elevated to vice president of franchise development; and Brandon Mangual was named managing director of franchise development.  
• A.Y. Strauss added Stephanie Blumstein as partner of its franchise group. 
• Patrick Sommer was appointed vice president of franchise development for REP’M Group. 
• Ron Bender became senior director of franchise development for Threshold Brands, a corporate franchisor of home services brands. 
• McDonald’s appointed Jon Banner as vice president and global chief impact officer.

August 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• 16 Handles named Lisa Mallon vice president of franchise relations. Erik Mallon was appointed to vice president of franchise development.    
• Kathryn Stalmack was named general counsel for Restore Hyper Wellness. 
• CertaPro Painters added Dawn Perry as chief brand officer.
• Jason Dunlop was appointed international president for Orangetheory Fitness. 
• Donatos Pizza announced Christina Jackson as chief people officer. 
• David Tyler was appointed CFO for Re-Bath. 
• Christopher Phalen was promoted to vice president of franchise development for HorsePower Brands.
• Happinest Brands announced a duo of promotions. Eric Martin became senior vice president of franchise development, and Sharon Cupach was promoted to vice president of franchise development. 
• Burn Boot Camp tapped co-founder Morgan Kline as CEO.

July 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Mike Handy was promoted to vice president of business development of IFPG.
• Jon Asher became the first-ever CMO of Nékter Juice Bar.
• WOWorks welcomed Cole Thompson as vice president of culinary. 
• Laura Wallerstein became a member of the business department and real estate practice for McDonald Hopkins LLC. 
• Cassidy Ford was appointed director of franchise sales for Entrepreneur Media. 
• All Kraus became vice president of marketing for Benetrends Financial. 

June 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Sip Fresh tapped Frank Gonzales as vice president of franchise development. 
• redC Business Advocacy appointed JD Prager as COO. 
• DUCTZ International named Jessica Wicks president. 
• Michael Arrowsmith was appointed CDO of HOA Brands. 
• Robert Cooley was tapped as CFO for Edible Brands.
• Allison Zorich became president of pūrvelo Cycle.
• Adrienne Gonzalez was appointed director of international marketing for Chuck E. Cheese Entertainment.
• REP’M Group promoted Jen Rieck to vice president of franchise development. 
• McDonald’s announced the promotion of Ian Borden to CFO effective Sept. 2022. 
• Wing It On! co-founder Justin Egan was named CMO.
• Chris Davenport was tapped as vice president of franchise development for Buzz Franchise Brands. 
• Raintree made headlines with a trio of promotions. Linton Dowling was promoted to vice president of marketing, and Lana Mazin was elevated to vice president of relationship marketing. Sundi Ford became COO.  
• Stellar Service Brands tapped Jessica Wescott as COO and CFO. 
• Seth Flowers became vice president of Rooter-Man.  

May 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Patrick Coelho joined Scooter’s Coffee as CDO. 
• Chris Erickson became vice president of product and strategy of Motto Mortgage and wemlo. 
• Edible welcomed Ramzi Daklouche as vice president of franchise sales. 
• Mary DeBonis was appointed vice president of marketing for Purple Penguin Digital. 
• Tina Thousand was named CTO of Re-Bath. 
• Big Chicken promoted Marci Rude to vice president of development. 
• Carisa Findley was named president of freecoat nails.
• Mike Mettler became CDO of Zaxby’s.
• Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services appointed Josh Weis as CEO. 
• Clean Juice announced Tripp Setliff as COO. 
• Unleashed Brands, a corporate franchisor of youth-focused franchises, appointed Chris Andrews as its first-ever CIO. 

April 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Stacy Eley was named brand president of Suite Management Franchising. 
• A.Y. Strauss welcomed Marisa Rauchway as partner and chair of the firm’s franchise group. 
• Unleashed Brands appointed Joe Luongo as executive vice president and COO. 

March 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• The Little Gym International tapped Jamie Eslinger as senior vice president of marketing and integration. 
• Transblue tapped Brett Estok as vice president of franchise development. 
• Southern Classic Chicken announced Tom Gerdes’ promotion to vice president of operations.
• Altitude Trampoline Park added Tom Grieser as CFO and Nicholas Doll as vice president of operations.
• Michael McGill was tapped as president of Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay’s franchising company, Intelligration Capital BB, LLC. 
• Kyle Mark was welcomed as first-ever CIO for WOWorks. 
• Annie Long was tapped as franchise recruiting manager of U.S. Lawns. 
• BizCom Associates promoted Monica Feid to COO. 
• MFV Expositions elevated Sheila Fischer to president. 
• Scott Zide was named CEO of Lynx Franchising.
• The IFA announced the appointment of Edith Wiseman to its Board of Directors Executive Committee. 
• Ziebart International Corporation tapped Thomas A. Wolfe as CEO and president. 
• Liane Caruso was appointed to the board of advisors of the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence.
• Evan Goldman became a partner in Greenspoon Marder’s franchise law practice group. 

February 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Jamie Lavigne became franchise development manager for Woofie’s Pet Ventures, LLC.
• Michael Iannuzzi became a member of the IFA’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board. 
• Amy Phillips became the president of Altitude Trampoline Park. 
• Heather Schlesinger was tapped as vice president of marketing for Edible Brands. 
• BBSI hired John Brice as its first-ever franchise development manager. 
• Bill Adams was named vice president of operations for Pancheros. 
• Stephanie Hoppe was appointed CMO for Cicis. 
• Larisa Walega was named vice chair of the IFA’s Women’s Franchise Committee.
• Clint Ehlers and Michael Browning were named to the IFA Board of Directors.
• Quick Chadwick was promoted to CMO for Clean Juice. 

January 2022: Franchise Industry Jobs, New Hires and Promotions

• Michael White was named president of Venture X. 
• Jeff Dudan became chairman and CEO of Homefront Brands.
• Mark Behrens was named director of franchise development for Outdoor Lighting Perspectives. 
• Jason Anderson was tapped as president of Coworks. 
• Sherry Rose was appointed CEO of Stellar Service Brands. 
• Brady Lee was named president of Graze Craze. 
• Scott Krupa was promoted to vice president of franchise development for Propelled Brands.
• PIRTEK USA tapped Mike McCarthy as COO. 
• The DRIPBaR appointed Ben Crosbie as CEO.

Should You Go to School for Franchising?

While there has been a lot of upward mobility in franchising, surprisingly many executives in franchising fell into the industry without a formal degree. A conundrum these days is whether to go to school for franchising or take the plunge and work right away. Schools like Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Titus Center for Franchising and the University of Louisville understand the importance of including franchising in business curricula to give entrepreneurial young people key insight into the benefits of the booming industry.

When recruiting franchisees, most franchisors don’t require a degree in franchising — or any degree at all. Franchise business owners can succeed by following the proven system. With support and training from a franchisor, franchisees usually need little to no experience to do well. Franchising levels the playing field and gives entrepreneurs from all backgrounds the opportunity to achieve financial freedom.