Matt O'Rourke serves as Executive Vice President of Franchise Development at BELFOR Franchise Group, where he helps lead growth across the organization's family of franchise brands. He also serves as Brand President of Z PLUMBERZ, giving him a unique perspective on franchise growth from both the portfolio and individual brand level. A Master Plumber and entrepreneur at heart, Matt built and grew his own plumbing company to seven locations before it was acquired by BELFOR Franchise Group in 2019. That firsthand experience as a business owner continues to shape the way he approaches leadership, franchise development, and supporting entrepreneurs.

Jon Laudie is President and Chief Financial Officer at Zerorez, where he runs finance and operations across a franchise network of more than 85 markets, primarily in the US with recent expansion into Canada and the UK. Since joining the business in 2022 as CFO, he has played a key role in shaping the company's growth strategy, scaling it into a $150M+ franchise system. With nearly 20 years of experience, Jon has held senior finance roles at some of the world's most recognized brands, including Netflix, Ancestry, Lucid Software, and 1-800 Contacts, before bringing that background into a franchise environment where growth depends as much on influence and trust as it does on numbers.

Jon is also a bestselling author of Roots, Relationships, and Results, distilling lessons from over 100 leaders on what it actually takes to build a leadership career that lasts.

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Franchise growth starts with people and how they think.
The Leverage Your Mindset for Franchise Growth Podcast features candid conversations with respected and influential leaders across the franchise industry who understand that sustainable growth requires more than strong systems. It requires investing in people.

Each high-impact episode delivers practical insights on leadership, culture, resilience, accountability, and the mindset that drives long-term success. Real leaders. Real experience. Powerful ideas you can put into action.

Hosted by Ricky Kalmon, mindset expert, motivational speaker, and author of the Leverage Your Mindset book series. For more than three decades, Ricky has worked with franchise organizations, business leaders, global companies, professional athletes, and sports teams to strengthen resilience, embrace change, build stronger cultures, and drive sustainable growth.

His newest release, Leverage Your Mindset for Franchise Growth, is now available on Amazon.

rickykalmon.com

Larisa Walega, CFE, serves as Chief Growth Officer at Ziebart International Corporation, the global leader in automotive appearance and protection services and one of the few franchise brands worldwide to surpass 65 years in franchising. As Chief Growth Officer, she leads franchise development, marketing, customer experience, and strategic growth initiatives that strengthen brand awareness, accelerate franchise expansion, and drive long-term system success. She partners across the executive team to develop enterprise growth strategies while leveraging customer insights, technology, research, and data to create exceptional experiences for franchise owners and consumers alike.

A respected voice in franchising, Larisa serves on the International Franchise Association (IFA) Board of Directors and recently completed a successful two-year term as Chair of the IFA Women's Franchise Committee, where she helped expand leadership development opportunities and elevate the role of women across the franchise community. She currently chairs the IFA Franchisor Forum Marketing Task Force and serves on the Franchisor Forum Advisory Board, helping shape thought leadership and educational programming for franchise executives.

Throughout her career, Larisa has been recognized for her ability to connect brand strategy with franchisee success, champion customer-centric growth, and build collaborative, high-performing teams. She is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) and a frequent keynote speaker, moderator, podcast guest, and contributor on topics including franchise growth, leadership, customer experience, brand strategy, and women in business.

Her leadership and industry impact have earned numerous national recognitions, including:

• Social Geek 2026 Franchise Thought Leadership Award recipient
• 1851 Franchise Top Franchise Marketing Leader
• 1851 Franchise Top 100 Influencer in Franchising
• Global Franchise 50 Era Defining Women to Watch
• Entrepreneur Top 50 CMO Gamechanger

Passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed, Larisa believes sustainable franchise growth happens when brands invest equally in their people, their culture, and their customer experience.

Franchise growth starts with people and how they think.

The Leverage Your Mindset for Franchise Growth Podcast features candid conversations with respected and influential leaders across the franchise industry who understand that sustainable growth requires more than strong systems. It requires investing in people.

Each high-impact episode delivers practical insights on leadership, culture, resilience, accountability, and the mindset that drives long-term success. Real leaders. Real experience. Powerful ideas you can put into action.

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Hosted by Ricky Kalmon is a mindset expert, motivational speaker, and author of the Leverage Your Mindset book series. For more than three decades, he has worked with franchise organizations, business leaders, global companies, professional athletes, and sports teams to strengthen resilience, embrace change, build stronger cultures, and drive sustainable growth. His newest release, Leverage Your Mindset for Franchise Growth, is now available on Amazon. RickyKalmon.com

Brian Schnell leads the Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath franchise practice and has devoted more than 30 years to finding practical and creative solutions for clients. He counsels both emerging and mature franchisors in a variety of industries on all aspects of their franchise programs. He is well known for his passion and commitment to making a difference for clients.
As the first male to receive the IFA Women's Franchise Committee Crystal Compass in 2009 based on his leadership in franchising, he is recognized nationally as a leading franchise lawyer and is a frequent speaker and author on franchising topics. His many professional accolades include: International Who's Who of Franchise Lawyers (including being named a Global Thought Leader in 2020), The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Chambers Global, and he has been recognized as a Franchise Times' Legal Eagle.

Each high-impact episode delivers practical insights on leadership, culture, resilience, accountability, and the mindset that drives long-term success. Real leaders. Real experience. Powerful ideas you can put into action.

Evan Hackel is the founder and principal of Ingage Consulting, a consulting firm focused on improving the performance of franchises by improving the relationship between franchisees and the franchisor.

By creating a culture of partnership and common purpose, Ingage Consulting is able to help franchises dramatically improve their performance. He has helped hundreds of franchise organizations make major systemwide changes and build franchisee "ingagement," teamwork, and focused growth, resulting in increased profitability and achieved success.

Franchise growth starts with people and how they think.
The Leverage Your Mindset for Franchise Growth Podcast features candid conversations with respected and influential leaders across the franchise industry who understand that sustainable growth requires more than strong systems. It requires investing in people.

Dr. Tim Bono is a faculty member in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis where his teaching and research focus on positive psychology and college student development. His work has been featured in a number of national media outlets including NBC News, CNN, Fast Company, and the Associated Press. Over the last decade, thousands of students have taken his popular courses on the Psychology of Young Adulthood and the Science of Happiness. He summarizes the research from those courses, along with how his students have put that information into practice in their own lives, in his book, Happiness 101: Simple Secrets to Smart Living & Well-Being. 

Michelle Routhenstein is a thought leader and expert in heart disease management and prevention. Globally, heart disease is the number 1 cause of death. However, research shows that 80% of heart disease is preventable through nutrition and lifestyle change. Michelle's mission is to reduce this burden. Michelle has a thriving nutrition counseling and consulting private practice, where she helps clients optimize their heart health. She utilizes science-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine to yield high success rates and astonishing results. She helps reduce the risk of heart disease by counseling clients, delivering engaging speeches that empower others to take ownership of their health, and by leveraging her social media to increase awareness worldwide. She approaches nutrition through a dynamic perspective that tackles the underlying root causes of chronic disease to protect individuals' hearts for optimal longevity. She also is a Forbes Health advisory board member. Michelle is the author of the cookbook titled: The Truly Easy Heart-Healthy Cookbook: Fuss-Free, Flavorful, Low-Sodium Meals

When Mark was six, his mother took him into Manhattan every weekend for singing and ballet lessons. When he returned to school each Monday and showed his fellow Bronx classmates what he had learned, the class would gather around and beat him up. Mark's mother smartened up and enrolled him in karate lessons, but those came to a halt when the karate teacher beat him up. When Mark was twelve, his parents took him to a nightclub. There, live on stage, was Rodney Dangerfield doing his act. At that moment, he knew the path he had to follow. Mark has headlined in all the major casinos and clubs across the country and has appeared many times on both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman. He has had both HBO and Showtime specials and has been the featured act at the Montreal Comedy Festival. He has written for and guest-starred in Mad About You – starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt. His new book is available where ever books are sold titled: Why Not?: Lessons on Comedy, Courage, and Chutzpah