Board of Directors | Canadian Franchise Association

CFA Board of Directors

Gerry Docherty, Good Earth Cafes, President & Chief Operating Officer

Chair

Bio

As President & CEO, Sherry McNeilis responsible for the management of the Association, providing strategic advice to the Board and leadership to the staff. Key areas of responsibility include: fiscal management, advocacy and government relations, membership development, issues analysis, strategic planning, media relations, and enhancement of public awareness of franchising and the CFA.

A long-time member of the CFA Board of Directors, Ms. McNeil brings to the organization more than 20 years of franchise experience working with franchisors and franchisees. A veteran of the industry, she has helped a wide range of systems in a variety of categories, from new and emerging franchise concepts to iconic Canadian franchise brands such as Little Caesars, Boston Pizza, Dairy Queen, and YUM Brands, to grow and thrive in franchise development, sales, real estate, project management, concept evolution, and rebranding as both a consultant and in leadership positions.

Ms. McNeil has been repeatedly recognized as one of the 100 most influential women in franchising around the world.

Sherry McNeil, Canadian Franchise Association, President & CEO

President & CEO

Bio

Ms. McNeil has been repeatedly recognized as one of the 100 most influential women in franchising around the world.

David Druker, The UPS Store, President

1st Vice Chair

Ryan Picklyk, A&W Food Services of Canada, Director, National Franchising & Western Canada Real Estate

2nd Vice Chair

John DeHart, Hartify Franchise Consulting, Chief Strategist

Past Chair

Bio

John Dehart is the Past Chair of the Canadian Franchise Association, sits on the boards of a number of businesses and is an Industry Fellow at the Sloan School of Health Care at Cornell University. A graduate of Cornell University, John lives in Vancouver with his wife, Gayla DeHart, and their two young daughters. He enjoys running up mountains in his spare time.

Lyn Little, BDO Canada, Manager, Assurance & Accounting

Treasurer

Bio

Lyn is BDO’s National Franchise Industry Leader and a Partner in BDO’s Burlington office. Recognizing the importance of financial reporting to attract the right franchisees, lenders and investors to the group, Lyn works with clients to ensure their financial statements accurately depict the finances of the company and helps management and shareholders make informed decisions. She also focuses on connecting franchisors and franchisees with the right individuals or services that they need to grow and develop as an organization.

Lyn leads the Burlington and Mississauga Private Enterprise Services groups. She works closely with owner-operators on a daily basis to ensure compliance requirements are met, and planning opportunities are taken advantage of in a proactive manner.

Lyn is an active member of the community and in the franchise industry. She is the Treasurer and franchise supplier committee member of the Canadian Franchise Association.

Larry Weinberg, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Partner

Secretary & General Counsel

Bio

Larry is a partner in the Toronto office of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. Since 1989 he has had a practice that specializes in franchise law and providing all necessary legal services to franchisors. He is a member of the Canadian Franchise Association, where he serves on the CFA Board of Directors and as CFA General Counsel, and the International Franchise Association, where he served as a Member of the IFA Board of Directors and as Chair of its Supplier Forum Advisory Board.

He is also a Past-Chair of the International Bar Association’s International Franchising Committee and is a Past-Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Franchise Law Section. Larry was the founder of, and to date has organised and chaired four Ontario Bar Association annual franchise law conferences. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising, and in 2006, he was the first Canadian lawyer to be appointed Director of the ABA Forum’s International Division and to a leadership role on its Governing Committee. In 2009 he had the honour of being Co-chair of the ABA’s 32nd Annual Forum on Franchising conference.

In 2004 he acted as co-editor of the ABA Forum on Franchising’s book entitled Fundamentals of Franchising-Canada. In 2017, he again acted as co-editor of the 2nd edition of this publication. As well he was co-editor and co-author of the Canadian Franchise Association’s first and still only official book publication entitled, How To Franchise Your Business. He is a co-author of the chapter on Canada for the ABA Forum’s book entitled International Franchise Sales Laws.

In 2004, 2005, and each year from 2009 to 2020 Larry was named by Franchise Times to their “Legal Eagles” list of the top franchise lawyers in the United States and Canada. He and Cassels Brock are each listed in the Lexpert® Canadian legal directory as being among the leaders in Canada in franchise law. In 2014, 2015 and 2016 Larry received Who’s Who Legal’s one and only worldwide Lawyer of the Year award for Franchise law, and in 2014, the Lexpert® Zenith Award. And for 2021 Larry was named by Best Lawyers in Canada, as Lawyer of the Year for Franchise Law in Toronto. Larry was called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario in 1989.

Kirk Allen, Reshift Media Inc., COO

FSS Committee Chair

Bio

Kirk Allen has a passion for growing other people’s businesses through the powerful combination of traditional media, social, search and mobile. Kirk’s experience includes 35 years of cross-platform media sales within Canada’s largest media companies. Prior to becoming Co-Founder of Reshift Media, he was EVP, Integrated Advertising Sales at Postmedia Network. When he is not busy driving sales to a client’s door (virtual or real), he can often be found driving to the links and rinks around town.

Connect with Kirk on LinkedIn

kallen@reshiftmedia.com

Darrell Jarvis, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Counsel

Chair, Legal & Legislative Committee

Steve Collette, 3rd Degree Training/East Brands, CEO

Director

Bio

Steve Collette is the Co Founder/ CEO of 3rd Degree Training and Actual Nutrition, companies founded in Prince Edward Island.

Steve has spent many years as a public speaker and takes great pride helping small companies expand.

Steve is extremely passionate about the CFA, and proudly sits on the Board of Directors representing the East Coast region as well as Emerging brands in the CFA.

Chuck Farrell, Pizza Pizza, Vice President, Franchising & People

Director

Bio

Chuck Farrell joined Pizza Pizza in 2017 as Vice President, Human Resources. In 2019, he undertook expanded responsibilities and modernized the training curriculum and approach which culminated with the launch of the newly renovated Innovation & Learning Centre. In 2020, Chuck’s scope expanded again and he was promoted to the role of Vice President, Franchising & People. He is a 20+ year veteran in the retail and restaurant industries. Previously he worked for other well known organizations such as Loblaw, Yum! Restaurants International and most recently Walmart Canada where he held the role of Vice President, Human Resources supporting its national operations of 400 plus retail stores in the country. Chuck holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from the University of Toronto and also a postgraduate diploma in Human Resources Management from Humber College. He also holds the Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation. In 2021, Chuck was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA), representing Pizza Pizza.

John Gilson, Cobs Bread, Vice President

Director

Bio

JOHN GILSON is Vice President at COBS Bread and has been involved with the business since 2003 when the first bakery opened. Initially, John served as an external consultant on real estate before joining full time in 2006. Over the last 16 years, John has been instrumental to the growth of COBS Bread across Canada, and now in the U.S. He has held key roles in all the key support areas of the business, encapsulating Real Estate Development, Finance, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Franchise Recruitment- and pretty much everything in between. Not only that, John has experienced being a franchisee himself with a smaller franchise system many years ago. In addition to his many hats at COBS, John is currently serving as a Board Director for the Canadian Franchise Association. For more information about COBS Bread, visit www.cobsbread.com

Andrew Hrywnak, Print Three Franchising Corporation, President

Director

Bio

With over 30 years of experience at the Print Three network , including 16 as its president, Andrew Hrywnak is recognized as one of the top 50 most influential people in the print industry in Canada. Under his direction, Print Three Franchising has positioned itself as a leader in print, web, and marketing, taking home multiple awards, including 7 CFA Franchisee Designation Award in the last 7 years. Andrew believes in building the brand by offering cutting-edge solutions to customers who continue to trustPrint Three as a leader in the Canadian marketplace.

Rimma S. Jaciw, CFE, WSI Digital, VP, Global Operational Performance

Director

Bio

Since joining WSI Digital back in 2004, Rimma has held various positions and currently serves as VP, Global Operational Performance. She oversees all support, brand standards, legal, billing & collections, and financial performance for WSI’s worldwide network of digital marketing agencies. Prior to WSI, Rimma held executive positions in five countries along with having started and operated three successful companies of her own. She is an alumnus of the Certified Franchise Executives program and is the corporate liaison for the International and the French Franchise Associations.

Joel Levesque, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada, Vice President and General Counsel

Director

Bio

Joel has held various legal roles with McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited for over 20 years. His current role is that of Vice President and General Counsel. Joel has held this role since 2012. Prior to assuming his current role, he held the positions of: Legal Officer and General Counsel; Senior Director, Franchising and General Counsel; and, Employment Counsel and Privacy Manager. Joel has been a long-serving member of the Administration Committee of the McDonald’s Deferred Profit Sharing Plan.

Before joining McDonald’s, Joel was in private practice for 3 years where his practice was focused on labour and employment law. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Joel held sales management positions in the soft drink industry.

Joel received his law degree from the University of Western Ontario. He is also a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Economics and Geography) and a Diploma in Business Administration.

Joel is married to Laurie and they have two sons, Joel and Alex. He enjoys sports and is an avid supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Ken Otto, Redberry Restaurants, CEO

Director

Bio

Ken is currently the CEO of Redberry Restaurants, one of Canada’s largest and fastest growing privately owned Franchisee restaurant group. Redberry owns and operates over 110 Burger Kings and 23 Pizza Huts in Canada and has plans to double the size of the company in 5 years. Ken has a successful track record of developing strong brands in Canada leveraging his 30 plus years experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining Redberry, Ken led some of Canada’s largest restaurant Brands as President of Recipe’s Family Dining Division. Before Recipe Unlimited, he was COO for Boston Pizza International, COO for Cara’s Air Terminal Restaurant Division, Director of Franchise Development at Moxies, and was a consultant to Canada’s hospitality industry with Price Waterhouse and Panel Kerr Forster. Ken holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Hotel and Food Administration from the University of Guelph. Ken and his team love to “make it happen”.

Gary Prenevost, FranNet, President

Director

Bio

Gary Prenevost is the President of FranNet of Southern Ontario and Eastern Canada; Gary and his team have helped over 2,000 families fully explore their self-employment options. Over his 25+ year career in the franchise industry, Gary has owned franchises himself; brought new franchise concepts to Canada, coached hundreds of entrepreneurs, and has become a sought-after industry and media source. He is also serving his 10th year on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Franchise Association.

John Prittie, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, President

Director

Bio

JOHN PRITTIE has been involved in franchising for over 40 years as a recognized industry veteran with a passion for service-based businesses and has developed over a dozen franchise brands in Canada, the United States, and internationally. He is the president and & CEO of Heron Capital Corporation, a franchise management company that has developed such brands as Mini-Tankers® onsite diesel refueling (now rebranded as 4Refuel), PROSHRED®onsite paper shredding and recycling, and TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® a full-service moving, storage, and junk removal company. To learn more about Heron Capital Corporation, visit www.herity.com/capital or call John at 416-204-7553.

Stephen Schober, Metal Supermarkets Family of Companies, President

Director

Bio

Stephen Schober is President and CEO of Metal Supermarkets and FlannelJax’s. He has more than 30 years’ of franchise experience in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa and previously was President and COO of Speedy Glass, Apple Autoglass and Novus Windshield Repair. Stephen holds an MBA from Western University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Frank Stanschus, Little Kickers, Chief Operating Officer

Director

Bio

Frank is the Managing Director and Owner of Little Kickers Canada and has held this role since September 2010. Until February 2020 he was also the CIO for Little Kickers Group. Before moving into Franchising, Frank gained over 20 years of corporate experience having worked in blue chip organizations such as Accenture, Virgin, UBS, Centrica and Price Waterhouse holding senior management roles in operations and IT. Frank has 2 children, Lukas and Francesca, from his first marriage and 2 step children, Ivy and Winn, with his partner Christine.

Thomas Wong, Chatime, Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer

Director

Bio

Thomas Wong is Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer at Kevito Group, a Toronto-based company that specializes in launching and growing innovative food & beverage concepts. Kevito Group’s brands include Chatime, a bubble tea franchise with over 60 locations across Canada, and Bake Code, a retail and wholesale bakery chain. Thomas’s current role includes leading franchising, real estate, and construction activities nationally.

Prior to founding Kevito Group in 2012, Thomas held senior management roles across a variety of industries, including at BMO Financial Group and Monitor Deloitte, an international strategy consultancy. Thomas holds a Computer Engineering degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management.

Todd Wylie, Master Mechanic, President

Director

Bio

Todd is the President and a partner of The Master Mechanic Ltd. Founded in 1982, Master Mechanic is one of the leading franchisors of aftermarket automotive maintenance and repair service centers in Ontario. With 38 locations located throughout Ontario, Master Mechanic has established enduring franchisee relationships and a reputation for outstanding customer service.

Todd has been in the Franchise industry for over 30 years with companies such as Panago Pizza Inc., Cara, Second Cup, Wine Kitz, Print Three, College Pro and Certa Pro Painters. Todd lives in Toronto and holds a BA from University of British Columbia and an MBA from Schulich School of Business.

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CFA Board of Directors

Thank you to the following members who are National Sponsors and support CFA throughout the year: