FranConnect is the leading franchise management software provider. For 20 years, the FranConnect platform has served as the sales, operations, and marketing backbone for over 1500 brands worldwide. Nine of the Franchise Times Top 10 Fastest-Growing franchise businesses rely on FranConnect to drive growth, improve profitability, and streamline operational performance. FranConnect customers span all sizes, growth phases, and industries and they grow 44% faster on average than the broader franchising market. Backed by private-equity investor Serent Capital, FranConnect is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, with global offices in Australia, India, Colombia and Canada. For more information on FranConnect, visit www.franconnect.com.
Chief Executive Officer
Gabby Wong is an accomplished industry veteran with over 25 years of experience in positioning SaaS businesses for high-growth, customer success, and product innovation. Gabby has held successive leadership roles within FranConnect, joining first as FranConnect’s EVP of Operations in 2016 and was promoted to CEO in 2018. Under her leadership, FranConnect has grown to be the leading SaaS provider of franchise management and growth solutions to the franchise market with over 300 employees globally and serving as the Sales, Operations, and Marketing backbone for over 1500 brands and 350,000 franchise units worldwide. Prior to FranConnect, Gabby held executive leadership positions with worldwide operating roles at successful DC and Mid-Atlantic-based private equity-backed ventures, including Primavera Systems (now Oracle), Trusted Computer Solutions (now ForcePoint), Vovici (now Verint Systems), and Clarabridge.
Chief Financial Officer
An entrepreneurial executive with experience across many industries including software, robotics, internet marketing, computer hardware, semiconductor, solar, food manufacturing, web retailing, and mail order.
Andy also has diverse operational experience from early stage start up to mature, publicly traded companies with some of the fastest growing and most recognized brands in the world including Hitachi, National Semiconductor, Netscape, Tellme Networks and MinuteKey.
Chief Operating Officer
As COO, Ian Walsh is responsible for Strategy and Commercialization, Professional Services, Customer Success and Partners at FranConnect. Ian is an accomplished B2B executive with a track record of driving results at companies including CEB/Gartner, Software AG, SAP, MicroStrategy and CARTO. He is passionate about fostering talent while achieving business objectives, and loves to implement data-driven strategies. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina.
President of Franchise Operations
Keith has over 45 years of executive level expertise creating and building leading franchise systems. A highly respected thought leader, Keith works closely with many of FranConnect’s Customers’ Executive Teams. His books, webinars and keynote addresses have created a large following. His latest book, The Franchise Book of Mentors, was released in September 2019.
Chief Technology Officer
As CTO, Andrew Jackson is responsible for Product Architecture, Development and Deployment at FranConnect. Andrew has 30+ years’ experience leading global teams delivering highly scalable SaaS solutions for Telecoms, Media and Payments businesses. Prior to joining FranConnect, Andrew was CTO at Arterra Mobility; he has also held leadership positions at Synchronoss and Neustar. Andrew has an honors degree in Computer Science with Mathematics from the University of Bristol.
Chief Product Officer
With 20 years of technology product leadership, Jaffrey utilizes lean start-up principles to create highly differentiated product offerings. His work with Red Herring 100 winning firms and Gartner Magic Quadrant leaders has resulted in top-tier VC funding. Jaffrey has a degree in Economics (University of Texas) and a master’s degree in international economics (University of North Carolina).
Chief of Staff
Trevor Anthony is a trusted advisor to executives and board members, specializing in financial operations, planning, and forecasting in private equity backed software companies. As Chief of Staff, Trevor leads the detailed planning, cross-functional coordination, and management of key strategic initiatives. Previously, he was the Sr. Director of Finance and Chief of Staff at NetDocuments, where he led strategic planning, M&A activities, and FP&A. Prior to that, Trevor held various finance positions at Owlet Baby Care, Ivanti Software, and IndustryPro M&A Advisors. Trevor holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Brigham Young University.
General Manager A/NZ
Paul Sharpe is a creative business and sales leader with demonstrated capability in transforming and building high-performing teams within the B2B Information Technology Services sector. He has held senior leadership roles at Nexon, IBM, Samsung, and NTT Ltd, with extensive experience leading sales, product, and marketing teams. As the General Manager of Australia/New Zealand (ANZ), Paul is responsible for all go-to-market activities for FranConnect in ANZ, including strategy, sales, customer success and the continued growth of all FranConnect product lines in ANZ.
Senior Vice President of Marketing
As SVP of Marketing, Lorena Garcia is responsible for the entire end-to-end marketing function at FranConnect, including driving growth through innovative and scalable practices in account-based marketing, lead generation, market analysis, customer segmentation, digital marketing, and brand stewardship. Lorena is an accomplished SaaS industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in developing strategic plans and innovative multi-channel marketing programs that build market presence, expand brand recognition, increase customer retention, and drive direct and channel revenue growth for enterprise SaaS companies. Previously, Lorena led go-to-market teams and demand generation at technology companies including Level Access, Hobsons, Vonage and iCore Networks. Lorena’s exceptional track record of success building ROI-focused marketing programs has led her to be recognized as a Star CMO by DCA Live in 2020 and 2021. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from the American University.
Our values serve as the foundation for how we operate and underpin our
actions. Check them out.
It takes courage and conviction in yourself to build a business. It’s not for the faint of heart. We can’t be afraid to make mistakes and be true to who we are. So bring your fierce self to FranConnect every day. Moonwalk. Do magic tricks. Sing opera if you want.
“Meh” is never a good thing. We want superfans. We want you to do business with us because you love us, not because you have to. Our singular focus is to create shared experiences that are meaningful to our customers. Let’s strive to create a FranConnect Fandom.
Scaling innovation requires systems-thinking. No decision we make is singular. Everything we do, from the smallest of actions to the most strategic decisions, is connected and impact the success of our products, our customers, our people, and our business.
Growing a business requires being “on point” all of the time. Often, we are asked to solve hard problems with no good options. It takes hard-work, determination, precision and speed. We should dig so deep that we kick-up dust along the way. Let’s get gritty.
It’s not about reaching the finish line – it’s about reaching for the finish line. How you get there is as important as what you actually achieve. Top athletes perform at-scale by breathing through their eyelids and seeing from behind. They use their senses to continuously learn, grow, and calibrate. So, get your ride on. Boom.
