IFA 2019 Convention Snapshot

The more than 4,000 attendees of the IFA 2019 Annual Convention Feb. 24-27 in Las Vegas left buzzing with inspirational business tips and a much sharper knowledge of their specialties in franchising.

By Andrew Parker, CFE

Gary Vee

Gary Vaynerchuk, aka “Gary Vee,” told 2019 IFA Annual Convention attendees that focusing on the attention of the consumer and developing your brand are the essentials to success in a world that continues to rapidly change. “Brand has, and always will be, such a powerful leverage point. How brand is interpreted, and marketed, and contextualized, and consumed, is the delta that everybody needs to think about,” he said. Read the full story on IFA’s FranBlog at franchise.org/franblog-articles.

Carly Fiorina

Business icon Carly Fiorina served as a special guest judge for the final round of the NextGen in Franchising Global Competition, with fellow guest judges Suzanne De Luca Greco, former Subway CEO, and BrightStar Care CEO Shelly Sun, CFE, past IFA Chair. Fiorina also took part in a panel the day before focusing on corporate culture and hiring veterans. Hosted by The UPS Store CEO Tim Davis, CFE, USMC veteran and sponsor of the event, the panel included Mary Kennedy Thompson, CFE, COO of Neighborly and USMC veteran, and Monty Heath, Director of Veterans in Business for PrimePay and a former U.S. Navy Seal.

State of Franchising

IFA is nearing 60 years in business, and President and CEO Robert Cresanti, CFE, updated IFA 2019 attendees in his annual “State of the Association” report, shown here at right. Read Robert’s full speech at franchise.org/franblog-articles.

Board of Directors

Official IFA business was a focus of the IFA Board of Directors and Committee meetings. IFA's Women's Franchise Committee, VetFran Committee, Supplier Forum Executive Committee, Marketing & Innovation Committee, and Past Chairman's Council also held yearly IFA Convention meetings.

Emerging Franchisor Bootcamp

The Emerging Franchisor Bootcamp (image below) was so full we had to add tables! The popular working session for brands with 100 units or less returned for the third year at IFA 2019. Keynote speaker David Long, CEO of Orangetheory Fitness, described the growth, capital strategies and culture of his fast-growing franchise fitness concept.

Leadership Conference

Sponsored by the IFA Women’s Franchise Committee, the Annual Leadership Conference drew top executives from franchise brands to hear about how they can become better leaders. The conference included the presentation of the Crystal Compass Award, given to Emma Dickson, CFE, President and CEO of Home Helpers Home Care.

Franchise10x

A panel of experts shared their knowledge about transformational technologies during the “Big Ideas – Franchise10x” session. Included were insights from Domino’s Pizza Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Dennis Maloney, Atheer CEO Amar Dhaliwhal, 1HUDDLE CEO Sam Caucci, CFE, and John Miller, Founder of CaliBurger.

Roundtables, Exhibits

Attendees got the chance to openly network and talk with franchise suppliers in the Exhibit Hall. While getting a seat at the front of the table can be tough during the large sessions at any convention, that's not the case with the Business Solution Roundtables.

IFA 2020

Keep an eye out for planning related to IFA 2020, which takes place Feb. 8-11, 2020 in Orlando, Fla.