Chief Executive Officer - Restaurant Franchisor

Tampa, FL
Full Time
Leap Brands
Senior Executive

The Role

We are seeking a CEO to lead the next phase of growth for a restaurant franchise brand that is moving from founder-led to scale-led. This role owns enterprise strategy, franchise system health, unit economics, leadership team performance, and long-term value creation. You’ll be responsible for building a brand that franchisees can scale profitably, not just growing unit count for the sake of growth.

This is a builder role. You’ll set the vision, build the operating system, and assemble a leadership team that can take the brand from regional to national relevance while protecting franchisee economics and brand integrity.

What You’ll Own

  • Set and execute the company’s long-term growth strategy (unit growth, market expansion, enterprise value creation)

  • Lead and build a high-performance executive team across Ops, Development, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and Real Estate

  • Own franchisee success and unit-level economics as the foundation of sustainable growth

  • Drive disciplined franchise development and territory strategy

  • Ensure operational excellence and consistency across the system

  • Strengthen brand positioning and guest experience

  • Partner with the Board and ownership group on strategy, capital allocation, and performance

  • Build scalable systems, processes, and KPIs to support growth

  • Create a culture of accountability, performance, and franchisee partnership

  • Own financial performance, budgeting, forecasting, and profitability

  • Represent the brand with franchisees, investors, lenders, and strategic partners

  • Lead through change as the company professionalizes its structure and leadership bench

What Success Looks Like

  • Franchisees are profitable, growing, and aligned with the brand

  • Unit economics improve year over year

  • Development growth is disciplined and sustainable

  • The leadership team scales and executes without founder dependency

  • Brand awareness and guest loyalty grow in priority markets

  • The system is operationally tight, financially disciplined, and culturally aligned

  • Enterprise value increases meaningfully over a 3–5 year horizon

Who We’re Looking For

  • Proven CEO, President, or senior executive (COO/Brand President) experience in franchising, restaurants, or multi-unit retail

  • Track record of scaling a franchise or multi-unit brand

  • Deep understanding of franchise economics, FDDs, and franchisee relations

  • Strong operator who respects the unit-level P&L

  • Experience building and leading executive teams

  • Comfortable partnering with Boards, private equity, or institutional ownership

  • Disciplined operator with strategic range

  • High integrity leader who balances growth with system health

  • Willingness to travel and be present in the field with franchisees

Nice to Have

  • Experience leading a PE-backed or growth-stage franchisor

  • Multi-brand portfolio experience

  • Turnaround or plateau-breaking experience

  • New market expansion experience

  • Experience taking a regional brand national

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