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
What is Franchise Spotlight with Katherine LeBlanc?
Conversations with the leaders who are actually building franchising - from the executive suite to the field. Each season explores what success looks like right now, what franchise leaders should be paying attention to, and how the best brands are delivering real returns for their franchisees. Because at the end of the day, franchisee profitability isn't just a metric; it's the whole point.
Your host, Katherine LeBlanc, brings 13 years inside franchise systems, having led marketing across six brands spanning food, wellness, beauty, and experience. She's been in the room where these decisions get made. These conversations reflect that: direct, practitioner-level, and built for franchise leaders who don't have time for surface-level takes.