Team
Your Partners in Progress. Our dedicated team can help you tackle challenges head-on and meet the moment.
Edward Kushell
As President and CEO of FCG, Kushell is also former franchisor of over 400 very successful franchises, a franchisee of multiple units in the fast food business, a Past President of the International Franchise Association, a member of the Board of Directors of several known franchise companies and consultant to nearly 1,000 companies either engaged in or contemplating franchising. He has been retained as an Expert Witness in nearly 100 franchise or franchise related cases.
Cheri Carroll
With over 30 years of experience in franchising, Cheri has not only provided consulting to both start-up and mature franchises but as a member of Senior Management for a major restaurant franchisor, she has functioned on both sides of franchising. As a franchise consultant she is an expert in development of franchise business models, operations systems and creation of distinct and functional franchise operations manuals. She has also had considerable experience in franchise development.
John Hodgdon
John has been advising companies and individuals on strategic, financial, marketing and operating matters since 1987. His responsibilities include project management, strategic business planning for early stage as well as established franchisors, analysis of organizations on a unit, segment, and consolidated reporting basis, and financial planning and forecasting. He has developed one of the most sophisticated franchisee and franchisor modeling and forecasting templates in the industry and has particular expertise in business valuation methods.
Rex Washburn
For over 25 years Rex has been providing consulting services to both start up and mature franchise systems. His primary expertise is in the areas of restaurant operations, other hospitality industries, fitness and construction related concepts, to name some. His experience covers the United States, Asia, The Middle East and Europe as well as throughout the United States. He has performed evaluations of existing franchise networks and created conversion plans for dealerships, distributors and other non-franchised networks.
Bella Thompson
Ms. Thompson is a Certifie Public Accountant. She is an expert in the formation of partnerships, distributions and royalty payments. Whether advising entrepreneurs on establishing corporate entities and tax strategies or advising large franchise networks on complex real estate transactions, Ms. Thompson is an adept accountant with unyielding precision. She is fluent in English, Italian, Mandarin and Tagalog and has a bachelor’s degree from California Lutheran University and a masters degree in business taxation from California State University, Northridge.
Jim McPhee
The last 10 years of Jim’s extensive franchise experience has been as a consultant involved in strategic planning and best practices for mature and early stage franchise companies. He is one of the country’s leading experts in real estate franchising and has held senior management positions with Century 21 Real Estate and has also been CEO of one of the largest franchise networks in personal care services.
Brandy Tchokoua
Ms. Tchokoua is a prompt engineer that works closely with senior consultants to leverage their expertise in developing innovative AI solutions. With a background in neuroscience from California State University, Northridge, Ms. Tchokoua combines her deep understanding of human cognition with advanced AI techniques to craft effective and precise prompts. Her analytical thinking and creative approach allows her to tackle complex problems and deliver exceptional results. Ms. Tchokoua is fluent in in English, Italian, Spanish and French.
David Kushell
Mr. Kushell is the Managing Director where his role focuses on developing strong relationships with clients and understanding their needs. Mr. Kushell studied food and wine at Cornell University and has worked as an academic researcher and policy analyst in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. Mr. Kushell led the development of one of Cornell’s first online learning programs that is still in operation and thriving. Later working as a data architect in Asia on large-scale machine learning projects, Mr. Kushell's background is now helping clients understand and navigate the rapidly changing world of generative AI.
Snejana Minsky
Ms. Goryaminakaya is a writer and producer of training programs and operations manuals. After graduating from the Moscow State Unviverstiy with a degree in English and literature, she started her career in publishing and was an editor at Vogue Magazine. Later, her transition into the entertainment industry drew her to set design and coordination for top studio film and television productions. Ms. Goryaminakaya's expertise in writing and editing plus her training and working on Hollywood sets, provides our clients with manuals that are engaging and polished.