Tenczar was Attracted to the Indoor Entertainment Franchisor’s Vision
Sky Zone, a leading indoor entertainment company, announced Joe Tenczar as chief information officer (CIO). With this role, he will oversee Sky Zone’s distributed technology team, which will support the growth of the company’s systems.
“I love building. Because Sky Zone got to this point through mergers and acquisitions, there is little maturity in IT and enterprise project management. I look forward to creating structure through amazing people and the necessary process. I want to design an IT organization that will be able to handle explosive growth and provide world-class technology services to the brand as a whole,” Tenczar said.
This opportunity at Sky Zone was passed along to Tenczar by a friend while he was running a strategic consulting practice for restaurants. While he was reluctant to change industries, Tenczar realized the potential in Sky Zone. He was attracted to the company’s vision and the passion of CEO Elizabeth Blair.
To propel the Sky Zone brand forward, an IT steering committee is being established, Tenczar said. To him, technology affects every area of the business. As an experienced CIO, every decision he makes is run through a strategic value filter.
Tenczar and IT
Tenczar’s first role in franchising was CIO for Ripley’s Entertainment. He’s also held IT roles at Hard Rock, Marriott Vacation Club and Sonny’s BBQ, where he became deeply involved in the rights and obligations of franchisors and franchisees. He has provided input to several areas of the Franchise Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement, including technology, purchasing, finance and marketing. His favorite aspect of franchising is using holistic data to provide actionable analytics to franchisees.
Investing in a Franchise
Tenczar emphasizes the importance of researching a business before investing. He also urges entrepreneurs to spend time observing the operations of the potential concept. “While the goal may be absentee ownership, you need to understand how the people on the front lines do their jobs. This will not only allow you to hire the best people, but also understand what delights and frustrates your guests.”
About Sky Zone
Founded in 2004, Sky Zone operates trampoline parks across North America. The company has nearly 500,000 members and hosts millions of children for birthday, team and school parties, according to a press release.