Kim Gubera, President & CEO of PIRTEK, stepped into her role in 2019 and did something almost no leader does — she visited every single franchisee before changing anything. In this conversation, she shares how that decision built the cultural foundation that drove a record-breaking 2025, and how PIRTEK maintains a standard of excellence — including through moments that were anything but easy. This is a straight-talking episode about what franchise leadership actually looks like when the values aren't just on the wall.
In this episode:
- How PIRTEK recruits for franchisee-first thinking at every level of the home office
- Why radical transparency — including disclosing an internal integrity issue at their franchise conference — is the only way to build real trust
- What it takes to sustain franchisee support and culture through rapid unit growth
Guest: Kim Gubera, President & CEO, PIRTEK
Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMO
Are you a franchise brand leader working on a growth challenge? Katherine works with franchise brands as a Fractional CMO. Learn more at apollocmo.com
The Franchise Leader Spotlight Podcast is part of the MyPodcastHost Franchise Podcast Network — bringing franchise brand voices to the audiences that matter.
Brought to you by MyPodcastHost — private internal podcast channels and the Franchise Podcast Network for franchise brands that take franchisee communication seriously. mypodcasthost.com
What is Franchise Leader Spotlight?
The Franchise Leader Spotlight Podcast puts you inside the conversations franchise brand presidents, CMOs, development officers and operators are actually having - about growth, franchisee adoption, marketing strategy, and what it really takes to build a system that scales.
Host Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO and founder of MyPodcastHost, sits down with the executives shaping modern franchising to ask the questions most people dance around. No fluff. No keynote speak. Just real experience from the people running real brands.
If you lead a franchise brand or you're building toward one - this is the show for you. Subscribe and join the conversation.