Marci Kleinsasser,CFE

Marci Kleinsasser is the owner of Kleinsasser Growth Advisors based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. With more than 30 years of experience in franchising and franchise marketing, she recently launched her independent advisory firm after corporate roles at Home Franchise Concepts for nearly four years and a supplier-side contract. Her career began on the agency side at BBDO in Miami working on brand development and strategy, followed by franchise accounts including Burger King, Kenny Rogers Roasters where she collaborated with Kenny Rogers, and Benihana where she helped build the franchise program. She later moved into service-side franchising with PuroClean, building marketing programs, and spent a decade at Handyman Connection relaunching the franchise program and developing playbooks for franchisees. At Home Franchise Concepts she created marketing models for franchise development across ten brands. Kleinsasser attributes her success to collaboration, empathetic leadership, and supporting franchisees and teams. She received the Franchise Innovation Award for local marketing leadership from Franchise Update Media for a campaign elevating craftsmen at Handyman Connection. She is a member of the Women's Franchise Committee of the International Franchise Association and co-chair of the South Florida Women's Franchise Network and Franchise Business Network, focusing on advocacy, education, and leadership for women in franchising. She advises young women entering the field to bank on themselves, expand their networks, ask questions, and both seek and offer help, noting that network is net worth. Current challenges in the field include finding steady innovative approaches that combine creativity and data while leveraging AI without viewing it as a silver bullet, amid economic pressures for franchise owners.