Josephine Franzese
Josephine Franzese is a seasoned facilities management executive with over 20 years of industry experience, beginning her career in March 2006. She is the CEO and Co-founder of RKB Facility Solutions, a nationally recognized, women-owned facility services company she established with her business partner in 2014. As the organization approaches its 12-year milestone this December, she continues to lead its growth, guiding strategy, operations, and client success across a wide range of commercial facility solutions.
Prior to launching RKB, Josephine built extensive experience in both rapidly growing organizations and global luxury retail environments. She advanced through multiple roles at a fast-scaling facilities company, beginning as an administrative assistant and progressing to coordinator, facility manager, and department manager, contributing during a period of growth from just 5 employees to 50. She later served as a facility manager and senior facility manager for a luxury retail brand, where she oversaw the expansion of more than 100 locations to over 405 sites, including retail stores, wholesale operations, outlet centers, lifestyle and collection stores, as well as corporate offices and mailroom operations. Earlier in her career, she also held roles in corporate facilities and store maintenance management at Michael Kors, where she gained deep expertise in large-scale, multi-site operations and high-end retail environments.
As CEO and Co-founder of RKB Facility Solutions, Josephine’s daily responsibilities include executive meetings, strategic planning, growth development, escalation management, and overseeing quality assurance for both existing and prospective clients. She also works closely with HR to strengthen organizational culture and ensure alignment across teams. Her leadership philosophy is rooted in creating strong relationships and a people-first culture, shaped by her unique perspective of having worked on both the client and vendor sides of the industry. This dual experience allows her to anticipate client needs proactively, refine service delivery based on real operational insight, and build solutions that address challenges before they arise, positioning RKB as a forward-thinking and highly responsive facilities partner.
• Minority Women-Owned Business Certification
• Service Excellence Award from Connex (2025)
• Pro Motor Award for Service Excellence (2025)
• Great Place to Work (5-6 Consecutive Years)
• Inc. 5000 (2021-2024)
• Fastest Growing in Facility Maintenance (2024)
• 2023 Build Fastest - Fastest Growing Facility Management Firm 2023 USA
• 2021-2025 Woman Owned Small Business Certification (WOSB)
• 2021-2026 National Womens Business Enterprise Certification (WBENC): WBE2103376
• 2021 Inc 5000 RKB Ranked # 2,579
• 2020 Inc 5000 Ranked # 2,528
• 2019 Inc 5000 Ranked # 945
• RFMA (Restaurant Facility Management Association)
• Bank Forum
• ConnexFM
• Hurley Heart Bulldog Rescue
• John Deeson Foundation (Supporting Children with Low Income and Medical Needs)
What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's just wanting to make my younger self proud and grow. Every time, my biggest competition is myself. Whatever I can do to make my younger self be like, oh, again, like, did you ever think you were gonna be here one day, you know? Or, did you ever think you were gonna be a business owner? That, to me, is the most rewarding and what pushes me forward every day.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Think like a CEO. That's really been the best career advice that I've received, and it's only because, you know, it's very easy to demote yourself, and I hate to say the word demote, but that's really what it is. You start thinking as a coordinator, you start thinking as a manager, as a director, but in order to lead an organization, you have to think outside the box. You have to think about your people, not what they're doing, but where you want to see them go. And the only way to do that is to think as a leader, not as a doer.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't take no as an answer. Keep going every day, and even if you have to tweak that answer, keep working hard. I mean, at the end of the day, if you don't work hard, you're not gonna achieve any of your goals. Surround yourself with good leadership that values you and pushes you to be better every single day.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think everybody is growing. A lot of our companies are growing. I think that the medical field is booming right now, as well as hospitality, so I think those are great places to acquire business. Data centers and warehouses are tremendous right now. I think a lot of people concentrate on retail and restaurants, but there's so many other areas that a company like ours can go into.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity, I think, is the most important one. And with integrity, I think it covers a lot of different aspects. I think it's honesty, it's transparency, because I do believe that there are two different things, and loyalty. But, you know, it's not a one-way thing. Like, it has to be mutually reciprocated. And that really just is the way that I operate in my organization, as well as personally.