The Industry Veteran Brings Four Decades of Experience to the Position
Pepperoni’s, a Houston-based pizza franchisor, added Paul Segreto as Chief Franchise Officer. In this new role, Segreto will lead Pepperoni’s operations and development. The industry veteran brings more than 40 years of experience to the role and previously served as CEO of Franchise Foundry, a franchise consulting firm.
Segreto is the founder and CEO of Acceler8Success Group, a franchise and business development firm. His decades of experience as a franchise consultant, multi-unit franchisee and corporate executive have prepared him for this role, Segreto said. “Working with an emerging franchise brand that has 30-plus years of experience affords me the opportunity to bring all my experience to the table, seemingly at once!”
Pepperoni’s was initially a client with Segreto’s franchise consulting services. “After 30 years of operating as a small independent chain, Pepperoni’s founder Ray Salti felt the brand was ready to franchise. This was after an 8-year process of ‘getting it ready for franchising’ by streamlining and improving processes that would best position franchisees to succeed. I loved his passion and commitment for franchise success for all parties involved with Pepperoni’s,” Segreto said.
Segreto looks forward to taking his role with the Pepperoni’s team to a new level and working with franchisees to drive growth and success. “For over 33 years, Pepperoni’s has been a well-respected and beloved brand in the pizza industry, and I am excited to be a part of its future.”
Segreto describes his new position with Pepperoni’s as a perfect marriage. “With Ray’s 30-plus years as a restaurateur and my 40-plus years in franchising, it made sense as we moved towards the goal of opening 200-plus locations in Texas over the next five years.”
The leadership team is excited to have Segreto elevate the company. “His wealth of experience and expertise in franchising has proven invaluable since we launched our franchise efforts under his direction three years ago,” Salti said.
A Franchise Veteran’s Journey
Segreto entered franchising 40 years ago as a manager for his father-in-law’s automotive business. “Several years later, I found myself on the corporate side of franchising and quickly rose through the ranks of several franchise companies in various senior leadership positions before spending the rest of my career consulting with franchisors.”
His favorite aspect of franchising is helping people succeed. “Doing so within the proven structure of franchising is key. Truly, the sky’s the limit for franchisees to succeed in accordance with their goals and their wishes, hopes and dreams. Whether as a single-unit franchisee or as an area developer of several brands and hundreds of locations, no other business model affords such a widespread range of possibilities and opportunities.”
Due Diligence
Segreto believe we’re currently in an era where due diligence is key. “In fact, due diligence 2.0 is the order of the day. With tight margins and economic uncertainty around us, I firmly believe owning your own business is key to a solid future, it must be done with an extreme sense of diligence – not only in the exploration stage, but in operations, as well.”
Segreto suggests that franchisors looking to improve their financial initiatives should drive sales and profitability at the franchisee level. “Highly successful franchisees will open additional locations and be proud to tell others that they would buy their first franchise all over again without any doubt,” he said. “That is what will provide the franchise sales initiative necessary to successfully grow a brand.”