Jon Sica, President of Batteries Plus, joins Katherine LeBlanc at IFA 2026 for one of the most practical episodes of Franchise Leader Spotlight yet. Jon breaks down why the brand standards conversation lands completely differently when you lead with exit strategy — and how Batteries Plus has been building that into their franchise development process for five years through their Full Circuit program. They also get into the AI infrastructure Batteries Plus is building right now, what raising net worth requirements actually did to their candidate pipeline, and why trust is the only thing that makes any of the tactics work.
If you run a franchise brand or support franchisee development, this one is worth the full listen.
Franchise Leader Spotlight is brought to you by MyPodcastHost — the podcast platform built for franchise brands. Internal podcast channels for franchisee communication and adoption, and the Franchise Podcast Network for public brand voices. 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.