CEO Q&A: What Is Your Role as CEO?

In each issue of Franchise Update magazine we profile franchise CEOs and presidents, asking each the same set of questions. Throughout the year, we'll be selecting one of those questions - and providing answers from those profiles. Want to learn more about these franchise leaders and their thoughts on other topics? Easy - click the links we've included with their responses to read their full profile.

This week's question: What is your role as CEO?

Ron Holt, Founder and CEO, Two Maids and A Mop
I'm the founder of the brand, which means that I still remember cleaning nasty toilets and dirty floors. It's a different experience leading the brand today, but the roots are still firmly entrenched in my day-to-day activities. I believe my job is to lead by example and to create a shared purpose so that our home office staff members, franchisees, and local employees can deliver an unparalleled customer experience in the residential cleaning industry.

Bette Fetter, CEO and Founder, Young Rembrandts
To create the vision and road map for the direction of the company. I have built a very strong team of leaders who will put that vision into action and execute. I'm also responsible for setting the tone of how we operate, in terms of ethics, values, and our culture. A CEO establishes the culture and continues to convey that with franchisees, staff, and customers on a local level. On the franchise level, I work to demonstrate the vision of the organization and to represent the public face of the brand so the franchisees know they are part of something truly special. My job is to tell the world why art matters so much so that they go looking for my franchisees and potentially investigate becoming franchisees themselves. I want more people to be involved in my mission. We're on this journey together to improve education, boost kids' confidence and learning skills, and help children blossom. I take it very personally to recruit people into this journey, whether they are parents looking to help their child or an entrepreneur looking for a business. Read the full profile here.

Kevin Bazner, CEO, A&W Restaurants
I'm a big believer in "situational" leadership. My role as CEO has evolved since we acquired the business in 2011. We started with a 100 percent focus on improving existing franchisees' sales and profitability. Today, we are equally committed to this, as well as to new growth, which we call our second number-one priority. While our business has evolved, my primary responsibilities as CEO remain strategy, people, culture, and communication, while ensuring the organization and all of its stakeholders are focused on our strategic initiatives.

Michelle Fee, Founder and CEO, Cruise Planners
While juggling being a young mom to two small kids, I started Cruise Planners in 1994 as a home-based model when the Internet was still in its infancy. I recruited and trained travel agents to work remotely, which was uncommon for the time as most travel agencies were brick-and-mortar stores.?With a talented team in place, Cruise Planners is now the nation's largest home-based travel advisor franchise network and an American Express Travel Representative with more than 2,500 franchise owners across the nation, one in every state, selling land and sea trips. As an experienced entrepreneur with a passion for travel and a drive for success, I pride myself with the evolving development and growth of the brand to remain at the forefront of the industry.

Brian Petranick, CEO and President, RiseMark Brands, Right at Home
My primary role is to focus on the future of our organizations and to ensure we are in a position to continue our growth, provide quality services, and meet the needs of our clients in the ever-changing health care environment. I'm also keenly focused on ensuring that our organization evolves our internal structure to provide the best foundation for our franchise system. Read the full profile here.

Michael Browning, Founder and CEO, Urban Adventure Air Park
I cast the vision and empower a strong senior leadership team to achieve the highest level of success.

Jon Nobis, CEO, Two Men and a Truck
I'm primarily responsible for ensuring that the brand achieves its mission and core purpose, while holding to its core values. This requires working with our franchise partners to guide the strategic direction of the company within a competitive environment. Within that strategic direction, our leadership team is responsible for setting goals and programs that give everyone involved the opportunity to be better off from their interaction with Two Men and a Truck, including customers, employees, franchisees, and vendors. Read the full profile here.