VP Institutional Franchise Development

The VP, Institutional Franchise Development is responsible for strategic franchise development through the sourcing, evaluation, and cultivation of relationships with private equity firms, family offices, independent sponsors, SBICs, institutional investors, and debt providers to strengthen Authority Brands' franchisee makeup. This role serves as the primary bridge between franchise owners seeking growth capital and institutional capital partners seeking scalable investment opportunities within the franchise system. The position will own the full sales cycle from lead to launch driving franchisee growth through acquisitions, new territory development, recapitalizations, succession transactions, and platform investments while ensuring alignment with franchisor objectives and franchise system standards

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, this role will contribute to hyper growth of our franchisee base and requires exceptional financial and investment judgment. You will need to leverage a skill set that includes experience underwriting franchise platforms, evaluating M&A opportunities, assessing sponsor and lender investment criteria, and constructing growth-oriented capital structures. The successful candidate will engage private equity partners, lenders, investment committees, franchise operators, and executive leadership on sophisticated transaction and capital allocation decisionsResponsibilities:

Build and own franchise development strategies through proprietary deal flow for franchisee/ operator businesses; identify franchisees with the potential to expand through M&A, adjacent territory development, or multi-unit growth.Develop and maintain relationships with business brokers, investment banks, and direct-to-owner networks, private equity firms, family offices, lenders, and other institutional investors; maintain active target lists and sector theses.Create and manage a targeted pipeline of investment partners interested in franchise ownership platforms; facilitate introductions between qualified investors and franchise owners seeking expansion capital.Match high-performing franchise owners with capital partners capable of funding expansion.Represent the franchise system at private equity, franchising, and investment industry conferences.Assist franchisees in evaluating acquisition, recapitalization, and development opportunities through financial modeling, LBO, EBITDA, and P&L analysis.Develop strategies to increase institutional ownership within the franchise network; analyze industry trends in franchise consolidation and private capital investment.Manage the franchisor-approval dimension of operator deals; preserve founder/brand DNA and franchisee trust; recommend policies and programs that encourage responsible franchisee growth.Prepare board-level materials summarizing financial impact, strategic fit, integration approach, and capital initiatives and franchisee expansion activities.

Qualifications:

MBA Preferred; Bachelor's Degree required in finance, business, or related field.10+ years of progressive experience across franchise growth & developmentExperience inclusive of investment banking, private equity, corporate development, or M&A preferredProven experience building parallel positions in a Franchise Development platformExisting relationships with private equity firms, lenders, family offices, or institutional investors.Strong knowledge of franchise business models and unit economics.Excellent networking, relationship management, and negotiation skillAbility to operate in a lean, fast-moving, sponsor-backed environment with high autonomy and end-to-end ownership.