As the brand celebrates three and a half decades of changing the lives of its students and franchisees, Stagecoach Performing Arts has appointed a new chief operating officer, Lisa Stead. After a career managing various franchise brands and running her own adult theatre company, Lisa brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for franchising, performing arts, and the growth and development of children. Lisa’s appointment aims to maintain the brand’s 35 years of success and bolster its mission to expand its offering in the U.K. and internationally.
With a strong strategic focus on U.K. and international expansion, Lisa cannot wait to introduce even more people to the Stagecoach network, ensuring they receive the very best support and opportunity for growth, professionally, and personally.
“As a firm believer in the power of franchising to empower entrepreneurs and drive growth, and as someone deeply passionate about fostering children’s development through the arts, I couldn’t be more thrilled to step into my new role as COO,” says Stead. “I look forward to working with our franchisees and team members to continue to build a brand that provides not only exceptional performing arts education to children, but also creates meaningful opportunities for our franchisees to thrive and succeed.”
Stead’s key motivation has always been to replace challenges with solutions, specializing in franchise operational systematization, processes, people and team development. With 15 years of direct franchising experience, she has seen firsthand that franchising is an excellent way to start a business, providing the security of a tried and tested system that delivers exceptional results.
“I thrive in the challenging and rewarding environment created when people establish and develop a new business,” explains Stead. “Seeing franchisees achieve a good work-life balance and free up time to reach personal goals — all while establishing a great future for them and their family — is exceptionally fulfilling.”
For Stead, joining a network of individuals who assist one another in achieving success is the cornerstone of the franchise model and brings immense satisfaction.
“Helping people reach both professional and personal targets within a framework that reduces risks and provides them with support from both the franchisor and other franchisees, and facilitating a network of people helping each other to achieve success, is the most rewarding part of my role,” says Lisa.
“I am thrilled to welcome Lisa as our new COO,” says Andy Knights, CEO of Stagecoach. “With her extensive experience in franchising and passion for the performing arts, I am confident that Lisa will be a tremendous asset to our team and will help us reinforce our commitment to building on the success we have achieved over the last 35 years. With Lisa’s leadership and the continued dedication of our franchisees and team members, we are confident that Stagecoach will continue to thrive and inspire the next generation of performers.”