C-Suite Profiles: Sandra Anderson, Stacy Anderson

Our 4th Annual Women's Issue of Franchise Update magazine featured profiles of 28 "C-Suite Women" who are not presidents, CEOs, or founders. While not necessarily in the spotlight, these women fill critical roles necessary for a franchise system to prosper and grow. Their titles run the C-Suite gamut: chief marketing/brand officers, chief financial/accounting officers, chief development officers, chief legal officers, chief operating officers, chief technology/information officers, chief people/talent/HR officers, a chief communications officer, and a chief quality, supply chain, and commercialization officer. Several hold dual positions, including executive vice president, senior vice president, vice president, co-owner, co-founder, and board member. In short, effective female leaders who help make the franchise world go round. In recognition of their contributions to their systems, their franchisees, and to franchising as a whole, we're presenting their profiles, two per week.

This week: Sandra Anderson, chief legal officer at Great Clips, and Stacy Anderson, brand president at Anytime Fitness (who, until recently, was chief marketing officer).

Sandra Anderson

Title: Chief Legal Officer
Brand: Great Clips
Years in franchising: 34
Years with current brand: 16
Franchised units: 4,091
Total units: 4,091
Brand revenue: $1.3 billion

Background: Sandra Anderson's more than 25 years in franchising allow her to expand beyond the scope of legal compliance to encompass a multitude of issues integral to the franchising business. She ensures that Great Clips has a sound operating environment for business success by managing its compliance with key legal policies and requirements, and by helping the company develop solid legal best practices. This includes overseeing franchise registration and disclosure requirements central to supporting the company/franchisee relationship. She joined Great Clips in 2000 and was promoted from Vice President and General Counsel to Chief Legal Officer in 2011. She offers deep expertise in franchise-specific legal requirements, gained by working within successful franchising organizations and the legal firms that consult for them.

Stacy Anderson

Title: Brand President
Brand: Anytime Fitness
Years in franchising: 4.5
Years with current brand: 4.5
Franchised units: 3,460
Total units: 3,500
Brand revenue: $1.5 billion

Background: Stacey Anderson joined Anytime Fitness 4.5 years ago as Chief Marketing Officer. A few months ago she was promoted to the new position of Brand President. In that position, she steers the world's largest and fastest-growing fitness franchise, serving more than 3 million members at gyms located in all 50 states and nearly 30 countries on 5 continents. After joining Anytime Fitness as CMO in 2012, she quickly earned a reputation for moving big projects forward. In her new role as Brand President, her number-one priority is leading the evolution of the brand from its pioneering 24/7 convenience model to a more personalized coaching approach, featuring new digital technologies and a broader selection of group training programs. Her previous retail experience includes executive marketing positions with Best Buy and Geek Squad.