After the tragic loss of my second oldest son at the age of eight, I sold my pizza stores. Initially, I took some time off, but eventually, I was approached by Domino’s Pizza franchise owners to run their association. I spent nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of the Domino’s Franchise Association, during which time we grew the organization by nearly 700%. We established numerous affinity partnerships with suppliers, hosted national meetings, and published a quarterly 80-page, full-color magazine.
Over the next 20 years, I embarked on a journey of independent business ownership, partnerships, and extensive travel.
In early 2015, I began helping individuals find franchises, which brings us to today. I love what I do. I meet incredible, courageous people who have the guts to take risks and change the trajectory of their lives and their families.
I now live in northern Illinois on the Fox River, surrounded by trees, with water on three sides of my house. I have a boat in the backyard and sleds ready for winter.
After a challenging 18 months with my health, I’ve embraced practices like Earthing/Grounding, listening to Solfeggio frequencies, and meditating for hours each day. With a little help from friends, I’ve developed a food, exercise, and supplement regimen that has significantly improved my health and brought me to a state of peace and happiness like never before.
Life is great. After nearly dying twice, I now experience each day with a depth of love, gratitude, and peace that is simply incredible.
Welcome to my story.
As the second oldest of five siblings—four boys followed by one special girl—I grew up in Michigan. Coincidentally, this is the same family structure I would later create: four boys, then one cherished daughter.
After graduating from Brother Rice High School in 1977, I spent nearly a year exploring Europe. I traveled by Eurail, hitchhiked, stayed in youth hostels, and occasionally slept on train station floors.
When I returned to the States, I got married at 19. Three months later, we found out we were expecting, and my journey into adulthood began.
In 1979, I started as a manager-in-training with Domino’s Pizza in Farmington Hills, Michigan. By 1982, I had purchased the store I was managing for $40,000. I had no money at the time, but Domino’s executives saw potential in me and cosigned the loan that helped launch my career.
Nine years later, I had relocated to Chicago, owned nine Domino’s stores (eventually owning 12), and had five children. The 1980s were a busy, fast-paced, and exhilarating decade.
I quickly got involved in Domino’s internal politics. I started as the co-op president of the Detroit metro area, then became the Chicago DMA President. Eventually, I was elected vice president of a 10-state group of Domino’s franchisees and served on the national franchise board.
In 1990, I was elected chairman of the board. During this time, I gained invaluable experiences, traveled internationally, and transformed the organization from a North American association to a global entity. I played a crucial role in organizing, collaborating with, and representing franchisees worldwide.
My involvement extended to participating in two regional and one national agency review as a franchisee. I served on the national advertising board, the equipment and supply board, and was a board member of Domino’s Pizza Distribution (DPD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (DPI).
One of the most exciting aspects of my role was being part of the Domino’s Executive Team. Working alongside the president and senior vice presidents daily provided me with a tremendous learning experience. Back then, Domino’s was a $2.5 billion company and the largest food delivery chain in the world.
During my time representing Domino’s franchisees, I was introduced to the McDonald’s Ombudsman Program. This program, which dealt what I was already handling, conflicts between individual franchise owners, and conflicts between the company and its franchisees. This inspired me to pursue mediation. In 1995, I became a certified mediator through a program with the Illinois Bar Association. Out of 23 participants, only six were certified, three attorneys, two psychologists, and me, the pizza guy.
This marked the beginning of a multi-decade journey into mediation, where I became certified in both directive and transformative mediation models. Over the years, I’ve mediated thousands of conflicts. I even owned a mediation firm, worked in circuit courts, mediated for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the United States Postal Service (USPS). I continue to mediate to this day.
