I am the founder and Managing Director of MSA Worldwide (MSA), a leading provider of domestic and international franchise advisory services. The International Franchise Association has published that MSA Worldwide is “the leading strategic and tactical advisory firm in franchising.”

Franchise Advisory Services

I have consulted both domestically and internationally for companies on the appropriateness of franchising, licensing, and other methods of downstream distribution of products and services; the design, development and implementation of franchise and licensing systems; and have advised hundreds of established franchisors, licensors, distributors, manufacturers, and franchisees on a global basis. Additionally, MSA Worldwide provides professional services including but not limited to manuals and training programs, franchisee recruitment strategies, franchisor expansion strategies, real estate site selection and site development, franchisee advisory councils, franchise relations, joint-employment, crisis management, change strategies, management company relationships, litigation support, and strategic restructuring of established companies.

During my professional career I have served as a senior operations officer, financial executive, consultant, or accountant for companies within the franchise, retail, restaurant, personal services, healthcare, hospitality, education and service industries. I have also been both franchisor and franchisee. I was inducted into the Franchise Media Update Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Global Franchise Hall of Fame in 2025.

Expert Witness Services

I have testified as an expert in depositions, trials, and arbitrations in the United States and internationally for plaintiffs and defendants and for franchisors and franchisees. I have also reviewed and consulted on the terms contained in an extensive number of domestic and international licensing, distribution, franchise, management, regional development, purchase and sale, letters of intent, and related contracts.

On behalf of the International Franchise Association, I have testified and presented to Federal, State and local legislators and regulators on franchising. My knowledge of franchising and licensing, and the standards and practices found in downstream distribution is extensive and is well respected by my peers, including those who practice franchise law.

Lectures, Speaking and Publications

I have lectured extensively in the United States and internationally on the subjects of franchising, licensing, and related matters as well as the generally accepted standards and practices found in franchising. I am a frequent speaker at programs for the International Franchise Association, the Canadian Franchise Association, universities and law schools, and retail and professional organizations, including the ABA Franchise Forum and the IFA’s Legal Forums, and the Doha Economic Conference in Qatar.

I have lectured at universities and law schools including St. Thomas University, Georgetown Law School, New York University School of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Nova Southeastern University, the University of Arizona, Johnson & Wales University, MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Business School, University of California San Francisco (Berkeley), Howard University, Emory University School of Law, and The Ohio State University.

I have written and contributed to several books and numerous publications in the areas of franchising, licensing, and distribution. I am the co-author of Franchising for Dummies with the late Dave Thomas, late Founder of Wendy’s International, and Franchise Management for Dummies with co-author Joyce Mazero, Esq., Partner at Polsinelli, both published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.

I was appointed to the State of Connecticut Low Wage Employer Advisory Board, as a person with experience in the labor force needs of the large business community. In November 2025 I  was appointed to the NASAA Advisory Committee to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Franchise and Business Opportunities Project Group. This twelve-member Advisory Committee works with federal and state regulators on franchising issues and assists in the training of state franchise examiners.

International Franchise Association

Since 1998 I have served in the leadership of the International Franchise Association. I served on the IFA’s Executive Committee in 1998 and 1999. I have been a member of the IFA Board of Directors for over fifteen years, and am the longest serving board member in the association’s history. I was elected as Chair of the IFA’s Supplier Forum, of which MSA Worldwide is a member. I currently serve as Chairman-Emeritus, Chairman, and member of several committees and task forces for the IFA including, but not limited to, Finance and Budget, Social Sector, and the Article Eleven Committee.

I am the principal author of the IFA’s Statement of Guiding Principles, the generally accepted standards and practices for franchising in the United States. I also participated in and contributed to the drafting of the IFA’s Code of Ethics.

Franchising Industry Educator

I have held the designation of CFE (Certified Franchise Executive) by the International Franchise Association’s Education Foundation (“IFAEF”) since 1991, the first year the certification was awarded. I have developed and presented several courses for the IFAEF, and MSA and the IFA have partnered to offer multiple courses for the IFA’s CFE programs.

I have served as an Adjunct Professor at the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University for several years, teaching a graduate course on Commercial and Social Franchising. I am on the Board of Directors of the William Rosenberg International Center of Franchising at the University of New Hampshire.

Social Franchising

I am Chief Concept Officer and a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of CFWShops, a Social Sector Franchisor established to provide clinical services and essential medicines in peri-urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. I also serve on the board and executive committee of the HealthStore Foundation and One Family Health as part of my commitment to the use of business format franchising as a method for improving the human condition and for having a world-changing impact on poverty, diseases and economic development.

I serve as Chairman-Emeritus for the International Franchising Association’s Social Sector Task Force. I am a member of the External Advisory Board of The Ohio State University’s Global Water Institute and on the Board of Advisors for Woman 360 in Ghana. I have presented on Social Franchising to the World Franchise Council, The World Bank, Harvard University, OPIC and University of New Hampshire, among other universities and private and public agencies.

Early Career

Prior to forming MSA Worldwide, I was a Franchisor, Franchisee, Chief Operating Officer of a British Fine Art Auction House, and a Certified Public Accountant. I attended Temple University and graduated from Long Island University in 1975. I obtained my CPA in New York State in 1978. I am a Certified Public Accountant (inactive status) in the State of New York. From 1970 through 1976 I served as a Finance Specialist (73C40 SFC) and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Reserves with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Professional Affiliations:

• International Franchise Association (IFA)
• American Bar Association (ABA)
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
• New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA)