Franworth Strengthens Leadership Team to Fuel Aggressive Portfolio Growth

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Franworth^®, a franchise-focused growth equity firm, announced today it has expanded its corporate leadership team to support and accelerate the growth of its portfolio of franchise brands. As part of these efforts, the company has promoted Dave Keil, operating partner and chief operating officer, to company president, and named industry veteran David Taccolini as chief financial officer. Additionally, Franworth has named a new vice president of franchise development and vice president of marketing, as well as appointed a new CEO to spearhead the expansion of its partner brand, The Lash Lounge.

This expansion in leadership is following the launch of two exciting new partnerships for Franworth. Last month, the company announced that New Orleans Saints quarterback and multi-unit franchisee Drew Brees joined as a partner and member of its Executive Board. Additionally, the brand recently shared news of its joint-venture with prestige hair color brand, Madison Reed, to deploy its Color Bar retail expansion efforts nationwide.

"Franworth was founded by attracting great brands and the industry's best team," said John Rotche, founder and CEO of Franworth. "What makes Franworth truly special is the team of industry veterans throughout our organization who bring an incredible wealth of experience in franchising; our leadership team serves as an unmatched asset to the brands we support. As we continue to execute our mission of helping emerging franchise concepts scale nationally and achieve profitability, the expansion of our executive team allows us to maintain the operational excellence that our brands know and trust to ultimately drive their businesses to new heights."

Franworth's new and recently promoted executive team members include:

• Dave Keil, President — Keil joined Franworth in March 2018 and has been instrumental in accelerating value creation and growth for the company's portfolio of franchise concepts, including The Lash Lounge, which grew from 19 units to 93 open over the course of a year. Prior to serving as operating partner and chief operating officer at Franworth, Keil held senior leadership roles at several national leading brands, including HoneyBaked Ham, Ecolab, Frito-Lay, General Mills and Häagen-Dazs. He most recently served as the CEO of Pure Barre, where he led a turn-around in same-store sales and built the concept into the nation's largest and fastest-growing barre fitness franchise. In his new role as Franworth president, Keil will partner with Franworth brand presidents to execute integrated strategies that support each concept's expansion efforts, advising Franworth's Board of Directors, and leading its internal functional teams.
• David Taccolini, Chief Financial Officer — As CFO, Taccolini will leverage more than 25 years of experience in franchising and executive management to implement Franworth's financial strategies and the growth of its portfolio of brands. Taccolini began his career at Domino's Pizza, assisting franchisees with obtaining financing and later went on to serve as CFO of Service Brands International (SBI) for 14 years, where he helped the company navigate its successful acquisition by Dwyer Group.
• Steve Lajiness, Vice President of Franchise Development — Lajiness brings more than 30 years of franchising expertise to Franworth's newly-created vice president of franchise development role. His franchising career began in the service industry, specifically focused on operations, training, multi-unit management and franchise development for Service Brands International (SBI). In addition to his time at SBI, Lajiness held franchise development leadership roles at Restoration Services Franchise Group and BELFOR Franchise Group. In his new role as vice president of franchise development at Franworth, Lajiness is focused on developing and executing franchise sales strategies for each brand, leading the franchise sales team and managing franchise sales partners and broker relationships.
• Megan Conway, Vice President of Marketing — As vice president of marketing at Franworth, Conway leads the brand's overall marketing and work with the department to ensure best-in-class support and deliverables for brand essence, digital tools, vendor management as well as internal and external communications. For 15 years, she has specialized in franchise marketing by supporting local owners and leading national strategies, partnerships, promotional campaigns and franchisee advisory committees. Prior to joining Franworth, Conway served as vice president of marketing for Restoration Specialties Franchise Group overseeing marketing strategy and programs for Art Recovery Technologies (ART) and Electronic Restoration Services (ERS).
• Meg Roberts, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Lash Lounge — Roberts joined Franworth as president of The Lash Lounge in October of 2018 and was recently promoted to CEO. Roberts brings twelve years of franchise experience to The Lash Lounge, with expertise in marketing, executive leadership and system acceleration. Previously, Roberts served as president of Molly Maid for six years, one of the nation's largest residential house cleaning services. Prior to Molly Maid, Roberts held various high-level marketing roles at BBDO Chicago and Service Brands International.

"We've cultivated a best-in-class team with more than 450 years of collective franchise experience," added Rotche. "The combination of our expanding brand portfolio, growing team of leading industry experts and Dave Keil's great leadership experience positions Franworth well for continued growth and future success."

By joining the Franworth family of franchise brands, business owners gain access to a wealth of industry knowledge and receive guidance from the company's executives and support team on all aspects of the franchising process, including franchise sales, real estate development, construction, marketing, operations and training, financial planning, legal, product fulfillment, and executive advisory. In addition to its extensive franchising experience, Franworth continues to innovate and differentiate itself from private equity firms, remaining engaged in the company's operations and growth. On behalf of Franworth, John Rotche was recently recognized by Ernst & Young with the Entrepreneur of the Year^® 2019 Award in the Consumer and Retail Products in Michigan and Northwest Ohio. The company is a finalist for EY's National Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which will be announced in November 2019.

For more information on Franworth or to learn more about how it can help your company grow, visit franworth.com.

About Franworth
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Franworth helps brands build a strong foundation, navigate their acceleration, and create economic value for both franchisors and their franchisees. Through its expansive suite of professional services and best-in-class processes, talent, technology and proprietary supply chain system, Franworth specializes in mentoring emerging franchisors and helping them scale their businesses efficiently to achieve profitability and maximize their potential for success. The company's executive board includes Founder, CEO and Managing Director John Rotche, CFE; Managing Director and Partner David Barr; and Partner Drew Brees. Franworth's Leadership Team includes seasoned franchise executives President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Keil; General Counsel and Chief of Staff Jonathan Koudelka; and Chief Financial Officer David Taccolini. Franworth's current portfolio of franchise brands includes Title Boxing Club^®, The Lash Lounge^®, CITYROW^®, LIVE WELL^® and Madison Reed^®. For more information on Franworth or to learn more about how it can help your company grow, visit franworth.com.

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