FUBU Founder and Shark Tank Investor Will Headline the February Franchise Show
- Daymond John, FUBU founder and star of the Shark Tank TV series, will speak at the International Franchise Association’s annual convention, Feb. 23-25 in Las Vegas.
- John is highly regarded in the business world for his expertise in marketing and entrepreneurship.
- The IFA has scheduled nine other business VIPs as guest speakers, many of them franchise CEOs.
Daymond John (above) of FUBU and Shark Tank fame takes top billing among the 10 guest speakers at IFA26: Evolve, the International Franchise Association’s annual convention. He will address thousands of franchise leaders during the Feb. 23-25 gathering at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
John, CEO and founder of the FUBU apparel brand, is appearing on his 17th season of the Shark Tank reality TV series. On that ABC show, entrepreneurs needing financial backing make their pitches to high-profile, wealthy businesspeople such as John.
He has received many awards for his marketing and entrepreneurial skills. John’s marketing firm, The Shark Group, offers advice on how to creatively and effectively communicate with consumers. President Obama tapped John to serve as presidential ambassador for global entrepreneurship, a position that contributed to the development of the next generation of entrepreneurs. And Real Leaders magazine listed him as one of the top 20 keynote speakers worldwide for 2024.
Two of John’s business books, The Power of Broke and Rise and Grind, hit The New York Times bestseller list in 2016 and 2018 respectively. His children’s book, Little Daymond Learns to Earn, which educates kids about money, reached The New York Times and Amazon best-seller lists during the first week of its 2023 release.
Other Guest Speakers at IFA Convention
In alphabetical order, here are the other nine guest speakers scheduled for IFA26: Evolve:
- Sam G. Ballas, IFA vice chair and CEO, president and founder of East Coast Wings + Grill: Ballas, his ECW Corp. team and their franchisees have built his restaurant brand into a leader within the casual dining space. Since 2015, he has authored several articles on the brand’s core philosophy of “driving unit-level of economics” in restaurant and franchising trade publications. In 2017, Ballas also engineered the development of ZorAbility Inc., an emerging brands coaching and investment firm. He is a certified franchise executive, or CFE.
- Andrew Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A Inc.: Cathy is the third family member to head Chick-fil-A – including his late grandfather, the founder, S. Truett Cathy, and his father, Dan T. Cathy, current board chairman. From 2019 until becoming CEO, Andrew Cathy had served as executive vice president of operations, overseeing the selection, cultivation and development of Chick-fil-A’s franchised restaurant owners. Before that, he held other leadership roles in the family-owned company; in 2005, he started work with Chick-fil-A as operator of a Florida restaurant.
- Kat Cole, CEO of AG1: Cole is leading global expansion and innovation for AG1, a nutrition-focused company. Before heading AG1, she was president and chief operating officer at Focus Brands. Cole has more than 20 years of operational, brand and executive leadership experience. In addition to her role at AG1, Cole serves on the boards of Slice and Milk Bar. Cole has been a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a member of the U.N. Global Entrepreneurs Council; she also was named to Fortune’s annual 40 Under 40 list.
- Curtis Dubay, chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Dubay’s job entails tracking economic conditions, analyzing the impact of public policy on economic growth, and running the chamber’s Chief Economists Committee. Previously, he was senior economist at the American Bankers Association and a research fellow in tax and economic policy at The Heritage Foundation. He also worked at the accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers and at the Tax Foundation. Dubay has researched and published frequently on tax and economic issues. He regularly appears on business television shows.
- Matt Haller, IFA president and CEO: Under Haller’s leadership, IFA has seen annual double-digit revenue increases that have led to new programs and services in support of franchising. He was instrumental in the IFA’s commissioning of research by Oxford Economics that led to the creation of IFA’s Open for Opportunity campaign that teaches the public, media and policymakers about the positive impacts of franchising. Haller also led efforts to realign the IFA Foundation, restructure the IFA’s CFE program to better fit the needs of association members. He has held various IFA positions since 2010.
- Dave Mortensen, Self Esteem Brands co-founder and board member: Purpose Brands is a portfolio of fitness, nutrition and wellness franchise brands that includes Anytime Fitness, The Bar Method, Basecamp Fitness/SUMHIIT Fitness, Healthy Contributions, Orangetheory Fitness, Provision Security, Stronger U Nutrition and Waxing the City. In 2002, Mortenson and Chuck Runyon co-founded Anytime Fitness, which now has 5,000-plus franchise locations worldwide. In 2020, IFA honored Mortenson and Runyon as Entrepreneurs of the Year.
- Chuck Runyon, Purpose Brands co-founder and co-chair of its board of directors: As CEO of Self Esteem Brands, Runyon helped to steer its 2024 merger with Orangetheory Fitness. That business deal led to the Purpose Brands portfolio, which today serves some 6 million members at more than 7,000 locations across 50-plus countries. With franchise co-founder Mortenson, Runyon co-authored the books Love Work: Inspire a High-Performing Work Culture at the Center of People, Purpose, Profits and Play and Fanchise Your Franchise.
- Codie Sanchez, co-owner of ResiBrands and the founder and CEO of Contrarian Thinking: ResiBrands is a parent company that develops and franchises home service businesses. Contrarian Thinking is a financial media business with 6 million followers and 100 million monthly views. Sanchez is founder of Contrarian Thinking Capital, a venture capital firm, and Main Street Holding Co. She started her career as a journalist and later held positions at Goldman Sachs, State Street and Vanguard. Her book Main Street Millionaire: How to Make Extraordinary Wealth Buying Ordinary Businesses, is a best-seller. She sits on the boards of Ermian Capital Hedge Fund, Magma Partners Chilean Venture Fund, and E-commerce Fuel Investment Fund.
- Mary Kennedy Thompson, IFA chair and CEO of BNI: In 2024, Thompson became CEO of BNI (Business Network International) and its affiliates, Corporate Connections and Scion Social. BNI is a networking organization with more than 20,000 member-businesses in 11,000-plus chapters across 76 countries. Earlier, Thompson served as chief operating officer of Neighborly, an umbrella franchisor of 30 home services brands, and was a multi-unit franchisee of Cookies by Design – eventually becoming that franchise’s president. The IFA has honored Thompson, a CFE, with the William Rosenberg Foundation Leadership Award, the Bonny Levine Award and the Crystal Compass.
For More Convention Info…
The IFA26: Evolve convention webpage contains registration information and other details about the event.
