Meet Him At The IFA Annual Conference!
Take one look at the career of Ralph Yarusso, and you’ll see a legacy of leadership woven into most every facet of franchise development. Ralph – who serves as the Chair for the IFA VetFran Committee and BrandONE’s VP of Franchise Development – knows how to drive results.
Of course, this comes from nearly 30 years of expertise in the franchise industry, from front-line labor through the executive-management level. In fact, Ralph’s a Certified Franchise Executive and a USAF Veteran. He’s a mastermind in operational excellence, specializing in building foundations for organic growth, franchise sales, brand acquisition and integration. As an FAA Licensed Flight Dispatcher, he clearly knows no limits when it comes to far-reaching insight!
In 2013, Ralph became the Chief Development and Operations Officer at Full Speed Automotive (formerly Grease Monkey Intl). In under a decade, he helped steer major initiatives for the megabrand, which is one of the nation’s largest franchisors and operators of automotive aftermarket repair facilities. Ralph’s impact included:
- Reorganizing and developing a new operating system that focused on unit economics.
- Raising the average unit volume 55%, with three years of double-digit same store sales growth.
- Redesigning the training program syllabus, materials and standards manual.
- Creating a new telephone training program and helping spearhead the online university.
- Establishing an in-center/field training program, with a cloud-based business builder review program.
- Designing a profit tracker/break-even analysis tool for franchisees.
- Developing and implementing a course of action plan for field support to help under-performing units, spurring a compliance incentive program that renewed expired licenses and eliminated loss of units.
- Creating a franchise development department that allowed the company to pivot from negative net unit growth. The effort inspired a sales funnel process, guidelines and a web-based lead generation capture and processing feature.
- Leading critical workflows during multiple brand acquisitions, helping guide integration and rebranding.
- Establishing a program for getting veterans and first responders into their first franchise.
Prior to his incredible push with Full Speed Automotive, Ralph served as the Regional Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc. From 2010 to 2012, he was responsible for overseeing more than 500 franchise locations and eight operations managers. It was a perfect fit, as Ralph himself was a Meineke franchisee at one point in life. At the time, he operated 15 locations, with some 75 total employees. Ralph served as Chairman of their Franchise Advisory Council and earned Meineke honors in the “Million Dollar Club” as a top-grossing franchise in the system. He was even recognized by IFA as Franchisee of the Year.
Clearly, Ralph’s career journey runs deep. He even played the role of Senior Franchise Development Specialist for Driven Brands Inc. for a few years. There, he managed franchise sales, real estate procurement, FDD, as well as franchise and trademark agreements.
The B1 crew is proud to have Ralph on our side and thrilled that he’s serving as the Chair for the IFA VetFran Committee. If you’re attending the IFA Annual Convention in San Diego from Feb. 26 to March 1, make sure to look for Ralph and connect!
BrandONE Gives Back!