Mark Siebert

Mark Siebert
Chief Executive Officer, The iFranchise Group

905 W. 175th Street, Suite 2 North
Homewood, IL 60430,
Tel: 708-957-2300
Fax: 708-957-2395
Web: www.ifranchise.net
Email: info@ifranchise .net

Mr. Siebert has worked with hundreds of franchisors, from start-up operations to corporate giants. A franchise consultant since 1985, Mr. Siebert founded the iFranchise Group in 1999 as an organization dedicated to developing long-term relationships with successful franchisor clientele. He is an expert in evaluating companies for franchisability, structuring franchise offerings, and developing franchise programs. The strategic planning recommendations developed by Mr. Siebert have been instrumental in the growth and success of numerous national franchisors.

During his career, Mr. Siebert has personally assisted over 30 Fortune 1000 companies and over 200 start-up franchisors. Some of the more prominent companies he has helped include Ace Hardware, Amoco, Armstrong World Industries, Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels, Berlitz, BP Oil, Bridgestone/Firestone, Chevron, Circle K, Coldwell Banker, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Guinness, Hallmark, Horizon Pharmacies, IBM, John Deere, Lenscrafters, Line-X, Mobil Oil, National Easter Seals, Philips Van Heusen, Ryder Truck Rental, Shell Oil, Successories, and Texaco. He travels extensively to meet with companies considering franchising, and regularly conducts workshops and seminars on franchising in cities around the world.

For more than a decade, Mr. Siebert has been actively involved in assisting U.S. franchisors in expanding abroad. His efforts have been responsible for the sale of numerous international licenses. He has also personally supervised the establishment of international consulting practices in Argentina, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, Peru, and the Philippines.

Mr. Siebert is widely acknowledged as a leading authority on franchise expansion and finance, having in 1989 led a joint venture for the purpose of obtaining funding for franchisors. In 2001, he co-founded Franchise Investors, Inc., an investment firm specializing in franchise companies.

Mr. Siebert is frequently called upon as an expert witness in franchise-related cases. He is on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers. He is also on the Board of Advisors to Connections for Community Ownership, a program to encourage minority business and job development through franchising. He was recently named to the Franchise Times list of “20 To Watch” in franchising, and in 2001 was named the AAFD’s Supporting Member of the Year.

With a B.S. in Advertising and an M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University, Mr. Siebert is an internationally published author and is widely quoted in the business press. He has taught graduate-level courses in franchising at DePaul University.