WOMEN IN THE C-SUITE
Martha O ’ Gorman
Title : Vice President of Marketing & Chief Marketing Officer Brand : Liberty Tax Years in franchising : 30 Years with current brand : 20 Franchised units : 4,177 Total units : 4,487 Brand revenue : $ 173.4 million
Background : Martha O ’ Gorman is one of the founders of Liberty Tax Service . Before Liberty , she was Director of Communications for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service . With more than 30 years in advertising , marketing , and public relations , she is responsible for developing brand awareness in every major market in the U . S . and Canada . Liberty prides itself on being a fun company , and she has conveyed that message through marketing and promotion , perhaps most noticeably in the creation of Liberty ’ s iconic Statue of Liberty Wavers . She received a Women in Business award from Inside Business magazine for her accomplishments in Hampton Roads , Va ., where she resides . She is a member of the Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference Advisory Board . She also is a Liberty Tax Area Developer and franchisee in the Fort Myers , Fla ., region .
Heather Passe
Title : Chief Marketing Officer , Regis Corp . Brands : Supercuts , Cost Cutters , First Choice Haircutters , Magicuts , Pro-Cuts , Roosters , Cool Cuts 4 Kids , Beauty Supply Outlet Years in franchising : 8 Years with current brand : 4.5 Franchised units : 2,528 Total units : 9,455 Brand revenue : $ 1.8 billion
Background : Heather Passe leads commercial marketing and revenue strategy for Regis Corp ., including branding , marketing communications , pricing / revenue optimization , guest relationship management , and digital capabilities . Previously , she served as Vice President of Marketing , Loyalty , and E-commerce for Carlson Hotels ( Radisson , Radisson Blu , Country Inns & Suites , Park Inn , Park Plaza ) where she led initiatives to engage customers and develop global marketing and loyalty programs . Before that , she held management roles at Northwest Airlines in marketing , planning , strategy , and analysis . She earned an MBA from the University of Minnesota , Carlson School of Management and a B . A . in Business Management from the College of Saint Benedict . She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children .
Stacy Peterson
Title : Chief Information Officer Brand : WingStop Years in franchising : 2.5 Years with current brand : 2.5 Franchised units : 826 Total units : 845 Brand revenue : $ 78 million
Background : Stacy Peterson was named Chief Information Officer at WingStop in August 2014 . She joined the company in September 2013 and served as Senior Vice President of Information Technology before becoming CIO . Before Wingstop , she was Vice President of Information Technology for CB Richard Ellis ( now CBRE ), a major commercial real estate company ( Oct . 2011 to Aug . 2013 ), having previously served as Director of IT ( Oct . 2010 to Oct . 2011 ). Before that , she was Director of IT for FedEx Services ( Aug . 2009 to Sept . 2010 ), and Director of IT for FedEx Office ( Dec . 2006 to Aug . 2009 ). In her more than 15 years of information technology experience , she also held management roles at Kinko ’ s and Blockbuster . She earned her B . S . in Business Management from Florida Atlantic University .
Abigail Pringle
Title : Chief Development Officer Brand : The Wendy ’ s Company Years in franchising : 15 Years with current brand : 15 Franchised units : Nearly 6,100 Total units : 6,500 ( approx .) Brand revenue : $ 1.9 billion ( 2015 )
Background : Abigail Pringle , Chief Development Officer since December 2014 , is responsible for design , construction , real estate planning , site selection , portfolio management , and franchise development and services . She leads the brand ’ s reimaging , new restaurant development , and system optimization growth initiatives for North America . Previously , as Senior Vice President , she led the company ’ s Image Activation efforts , involving the creation of new restaurant designs and uniforms and partnering with the marketing team to redesign the brand logo and packaging . Before being named SVP in 2012 , she served as Vice President , Strategic Initiatives and Planning , responsible for facilitating the company ’ s brand planning process and driving key strategies such as pricing , breakfast , sustainability ( CSR ), and franchise excellence . Before joining Wendy ’ s in 2002 , she worked for Accenture in process reengineering , systems implementation , organizational design , and change management .
14 Franchiseupdate ISSUE I , 2017