Alex Pericchi has spent 12 years as VP of Marketing at PuroClean watching what actually drives franchisee adoption — and what quietly kills it. His answer this year is radical simplification: fewer activities, clearer direction, and a message repeated from every corner of the organization until it lands. If you've ever wondered why franchisees aren't executing on your marketing programs, this conversation will reframe the question entirely.

In this episode:

• Why PuroClean is doing less marketing this year — on purpose
• The 80/20 framework Alex uses to cut noise and drive real adoption
• How asking franchisees about their exit plan on day one changes everything

Guest: Alex Pericchi, VP of Marketing, PuroClean Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMO

Are you a franchise brand leader working on a growth challenge? Katherine works with franchise brands as a Fractional CMO. Learn more at apollocmo.com

The Franchise Leader Spotlight Podcast is part of the MyPodcastHost Franchise Podcast Network — bringing franchise brand voices to the audiences that matter.

Brought to you by MyPodcastHost — private internal podcast channels and the Franchise Podcast Network for franchise brands that take franchisee communication seriously. mypodcasthost.com

Jon Sica, President of Batteries Plus, joins Katherine LeBlanc at IFA 2026 for one of the most practical episodes of Franchise Leader Spotlight yet. Jon breaks down why the brand standards conversation lands completely differently when you lead with exit strategy — and how Batteries Plus has been building that into their franchise development process for five years through their Full Circuit program. They also get into the AI infrastructure Batteries Plus is building right now, what raising net worth requirements actually did to their candidate pipeline, and why trust is the only thing that makes any of the tactics work.

If you run a franchise brand or support franchisee development, this one is worth the full listen.

Franchise Leader Spotlight is brought to you by MyPodcastHost — the podcast platform built for franchise brands. Internal podcast channels for franchisee communication and adoption, and the Franchise Podcast Network for public brand voices. mypodcasthost.com.

Kathy George, President of Spherion Staffing and Recruiting, joins Katherine LeBlanc at IFA to talk about the leadership framework that helped an 80-year-old staffing franchise outpace its competitors and its parent company in a year the industry was forecasted to contract.

Kathy walks through the 20 Mile March - the collective two-year goal structure she set the night before getting on stage at national convention - and the weekly, monthly, and quarterly communication stack that turned a shared goal into franchisee-to-franchisee accountability. She also gets candid about radical transparency as a real operating principle, the succession challenge building inside multi-generational franchise systems, and why she's had to say no to protect the brand she stewards.

If you lead a franchise brand and the gap between what HQ knows and what franchisees feel is wider than you'd like - this one is for you.

Brought to you by MyPodcastHost - private internal podcast channels and the Franchise Podcast Network for franchise brands that take franchisee communication seriously. mypodcasthost.com

Jennifer Durham has scaled franchise brands across restaurants, hospitality, and wellness - from Checkers & Rally's to Cooper's Hawk, Hand & Stone, and now Potbelly, where she's leading the brand's push from 467 shops to 2,000 locations. She's also a CPA, which means when she talks about unit economics, she means it.

In this conversation at IFA 2026, Jennifer makes the case that franchising has been measuring and marketing to the wrong number. New unit count looks great on a banner. But it doesn't tell a prospect how long it takes to get open, how long it takes to get profitable, or how the existing network is actually performing. Those are the questions serious candidates are starting to ask - and the brands that can answer them honestly will win the development race.

We also get into Potbelly's approach to preserving struggling locations rather than closing them, why the scarcity mindset that drives a franchise sale can damage the franchisee relationship post-close, and what Jennifer thinks franchising needs more of and less of right now.

What we cover:

• Why new unit count may be the wrong development headline
• The metrics that actually tell the franchise story: time to open, ramp to profitability, same-store sales growth
• How Potbelly gets creative to keep struggling shops alive
• The scarcity mindset problem in franchise development
• Jennifer's take on Item 19 standardization
• A leadership lesson about leading through other people's expertise
• The future of franchising — and what Jennifer is optimistic about

Guest: Jennifer Durham, SVP Franchise & Development, Potbelly
Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Founder, Apollo CMO & MyPodcastHost
Recorded: IFA Annual Convention 2026

The Franchise Leader Spotlight Podcast is part of the ⁠My Podcast Host ⁠Franchise Podcast Network.

Kevin King didn't become President and CEO of Donatos Pizza by staying in his lane. In this conversation, Katherine LeBlanc sits down with Kevin at IFA to talk about what it actually takes to build a franchise brand that scales and what separates the leaders who get there from the ones who don't.

They get into how Donatos is using automation and AI not to replace people, but to free them up for the moments that matter. Why understanding how the business makes money is the career skill nobody teaches. And the leadership lesson Kevin brought back from a visit to Chick-fil-A that reframed how he thinks about every title, every role, and every person on his team.

If you're running a franchise brand or building toward a leadership seat, this one's worth your full attention.

Brought to you by ⁠My Podcast Host

Leads are up at Go Mini's. Revenue didn't keep pace. Chris Walls, President & CEO, knows exactly why - and he's not blaming the marketing.

In this episode of the Franchise Leader Spotlight, Chris sits down with host Katherine LeBlanc to talk about the conversion-first mindset Go Mini's is building across its franchise network in 2026. From closing rate as a core KPI to franchisee adoption of new tools, from a B2B pivot into restoration companies to the slow, deliberate work of building trust with franchisees - this is a candid look at what it actually takes to lead a franchise brand through rapid change.

Chris also reflects on his journey from trial lawyer to franchise CEO, what he learned about leadership the hard way, and why AI is both the most exciting and most anxiety-inducing thing heading toward franchising right now.

If you're a franchise brand leader thinking about how to get more out of what you already have - this one's for you.

The Franchise Leader Spotlight Podcast is hosted by Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO , and is part of the MyPodcastHost Franchise Podcast Network.

What does it look like to grow a franchise brand without compromising your values?

In this episode of Franchise Leader Spotlight, Katherine LeBlanc sits down with Paul Pickett of Wild Birds Unlimited to explore how sustainable growth is built through care, discipline, and long-term thinking.

Paul shares why protecting brand integrity sometimes means saying no to the wrong franchisee fit, how leadership shapes culture across a system, and why care isn’t soft - it’s strategic. In a franchising environment often focused on speed, this conversation centers on building the right way and creating a legacy that lasts.

This episode is sponsored by ⁠My Podcast Host⁠, helping franchise systems bring their most important messages to life through internal podcasting.

In this episode of Franchise Leader Spotlight, Katherine LeBlanc sits down with Quinn Newhall, Chief Operating Officer of Clean Eatz, to discuss what it means to lead with a franchisee-first mindset.

As a former operator turned executive, Quinn shares how his experience in the field shapes his leadership approach, why local store marketing is the backbone of sustainable growth, and what franchisees need most from brand leadership in today’s competitive restaurant environment.

This conversation is equal parts practical and encouraging - a steady perspective for operators focused on long-term success.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠My Podcast Host⁠, helping franchise systems bring their most important messages to life through internal podcasting.