Gary Liskovich
Co-founder & CEO at Harmonyze
Gary Liskovich is co-founder and CEO of Harmonyze, an AI performance coaching platform for franchise brands, which he started with co-founder and CTO Jonny Greenspan. Before Harmonyze he worked in product roles at EvolutionIQ, where he was a group product manager, and earlier at SmartAsset and Deloitte. He hosts Harmonyze's webinar series and is an advisory board member of the Titus Center for Franchising at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
LinkedInIn their own words
“Historically, you might have assumed franchising would simply be part of the business-school curriculum. But business schools have clearly underserved the franchise model and haven’t always discussed it as true “entrepreneurship with guardrails,” which is a phrase I love and may have to steal. Why have business schools historically underserved franchise education?”
“Hey, everybody. Welcome to today’s webinar. I’m super excited to have Ab Igram with us. For those who don’t know him, Ab is the Executive Director of the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute at Babson College. Before that, he spent years on the capital and growth sides of franchising. He has experience in lending, investing, and building startups.”
“I know a few folks are gonna ask for the recording. There will be a recording of this as well. For those who don't know me, I'm Gary Luskovich. I'm the co-founder and CEO of Harmonyze. I'm gonna be moderating, today's conversation with these three folks. We're really gonna be talking mostly about unit economics and franchisee profitability.”
Gary on Harmonyze
Webinar
From Classroom to Concept: Ab Igram on Preparing the Franchise Leaders of Tomorrow
Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Ab Igram, Executive Director of the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute at Babson College, to explore how franchise education is evolving.
Webinar
Fireside Chat | Unit Economics: An Executive Perspective with Potbelly, Goldfish Swim Schools, & CHHJ
A unit can post strong profit and still be quietly deteriorating. Three franchise executives on how to tell the difference: Matt Davis (CFO, Goldfish Swim School), Jennifer Durham (SVP, Potbelly), and Dan Whalen (SVP of Operations, College Hunks Hauling Junk) sit down with Gary Liskovich (CEO, Harmonyze) for a conversation that dives into it.
Webinar
Freedom Within the Framework: Matt Ericksen on How Great Brands Balance Consistency & Autonomy
Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Matt Ericksen, VP of Sales & Operations at Griswold, to explore how growing franchise brands can create consistency without over-engineering the operator experience.
Webinar
The Franchise Trust Playbook: Eric Stites on How Top Brands Listen, Communicate, and Grow
Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Eric Stites, who explains why trust begins with clear expectations and a mutual commitment to success. He also shares how consistent follow-through, transparent leadership, and genuine listening can create stronger relationships between franchisors and franchisees.
Webinar
Coaching Through Financial Stress: Kyle McEuen on how top brands build trust to boost unit economics
Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Kyle McEuen, SVP of Franchise Services at ProfitKeeper and a multi-unit Primrose Schools franchisee, to discuss how brands can coach franchisees through financial stress without losing trust.
Webinar
Smooth Is Fast: Joe Malmuth on how great franchise systems turn process into growth
Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Joe Malmuth, Chief Development Officer at Batteries Plus, to talk about what it really takes to scale a franchise system.
Webinar
From Compliance to Performance: Tyler Kraemer on how leading brands turn standards into results
Gary Liskovich sits down with Tyler Kraemer, VP of Franchise Services at Penn Station East Coast Subs, to discuss a challenge every franchise brand faces: how to maintain standards without turning operations into a compliance exercise.
Webinar
How Advisory Boards Add Value: John Francis on Why outside perspective helps brands grow smarter
Gary Liskovich sits down with John Francis, better known as Johnny Franchise, to talk about how advisory boards help franchise brands grow smarter. John shares lessons from 30+ years in franchising on outside perspective, founder accountability, board structure, and how the right advisors can help brands scale with more confidence.
Webinar
When Financials Build Trust: Brad Adams on how shared visibility builds franchise relationships
Brad Adams, President, CEO, and Chairman of Qvinci, talks about why financial transparency matters so much in franchising — and why it can so deeply shape the franchise relationship.
Webinar
The Field Is the R&D Team: Kathleen Gosser on how franchisors find, prove, and scale what works
Kathleen Gosser, Ph.D. — Associate Professor of Franchise Management Practice at the University of Louisville and Director of the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence — unpacks a simple idea that the best franchise systems never forget: The field is the R&D team.
Webinar
Tools vs. Traction: Dave Hansen on How to Roll Out Tech That Franchisees Actually Use
In this conversation, Gary sits down with Dave Hansen, CEO of ClientTether, to talk about one of the biggest challenges in franchising: turning technology into real, repeatable results across a system. Drawing on experience as a technology leader, franchise owner, operator, and advisor to franchise brands, Dave breaks down why so many franchise systems jump to tools before clearly defining the process, problem, or outcome they are actually trying to improve.
Webinar
What Makes a Brand Memorable: Jack Monson on how great brands create distinction & staying power
In this conversation, Gary Liskovich sits down with Jack Monson, Chief Growth Officer at Thunderly and host of the long-running Social Geek podcast, to talk about why so many franchise brands blur together — and what the best brands do differently.
Webinar
Understanding the Whole Business: Kevin King on How Curiosity Makes Better Business Leaders
In this conversation with Harmonyze CEO Gary Liskovich, Kevin King shares lessons from a career that has spanned Domino’s, Donatos, Papa Murphy’s, Smoothie King, and more — and explains why the best leaders do more than stay in their lane. They understand how the business actually makes money, how culture shapes execution, and why curiosity is one of the most important traits any leader can have.
Webinar
Don't Push or Pull → Pitch: Atul Sood on How Multi-Unit Brands Make Technology Stick
In this conversation, Gary sits down with Atul Sood to talk about one of the hardest challenges in multi-unit operations: technology adoption at scale. Atul shares lessons from his experience at McDonald’s, Kitchen United, and now as a fractional Chief Business Officer advising restaurant and technology companies. Together, they unpack how tech rollouts used to be driven by push from corporate, why that model often failed in the field, and what the best brands are doing differently today.
Webinar
How Franchising Grew Up: Joe Bourdow on the Transaction From Legitimacy → Education → Capital
In this conversation with Harmonyze CEO Gary Liskovich, Joe Bourdow (former International Franchise Association Board Member) walks through three major inflection points in the history of modern franchising: the push for legitimacy and regulation in the early days, the rise of education and professionalization through the IFA and CFE, and the growing role of private equity in shaping today’s franchise landscape.
Webinar
Compliance vs. Coaching: Monica Rothgery on How Great Franchisors Build Trust
In this episode, Gary Liskovich (CEO, Harmonyze) sits down with Monica Rothgery—former COO of KFC U.S. and author of Lessons from the Drive-Thru—to unpack one of the biggest tensions in franchising: compliance vs. coaching. Monica shares the practical playbook she used while overseeing 4,000+ restaurants: how to build franchisee trust, roll out change without breaking the partnership, and reduce complexity so execution actually happens in the field.
Webinar
Dashboards Don't Coach: Russell Hoff on the What, Why, & How of Moving Franchisees to Action
In this webinar, Gary Liskovich (CEO, Harmonyze) sits down with Russell Hoff (COO, Heights Wellness) to break down what effective performance coaching looks like at scale — and why “data visibility” alone still leaves most franchisees without a clear next step. You’ll hear how top franchise systems move from reporting → direction → execution, using a simple framework:
Webinar
Performance Coaching vs Support Coaching: Michael O’Driscoll on the differences & the maturity curve
In this webinar, Michael O’Driscoll (COO, Homefront Brands) and Gary Liskovich (CEO, Harmonyze) break down a distinction most franchise systems feel as they scale—but rarely name clearly: Support Coaching vs. Performance Coaching. Support coaching keeps the system stable: answering questions and resolving tickets. Performance coaching is different: designed to systematically improve unit economics, consistency, and repeatability across the network.
Webinar
From Signal to Action: Dean Hartley on How Modern Teams Turn Insight into Results
In this conversation, Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Dean Hartley, Brand President of Five Star Bath Solutions, to unpack a challenge most modern teams face – they are surrounded by data, but struggle to turn insight into consistent action.
Webinar
Why Data Visibility Isn’t Enough: Chris Andrews on Moving from Reporting to Performance
In this webinar, Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Chris Andrews, Chief Information & Digital Officer at European Wax Center, to explore why data visibility alone rarely translates into better performance—and what it actually takes to move from reporting to real execution at scale.
Webinar
Dashboards Aren’t Direction: Asher Perlmutter on Why Data Without Context Fails at Scale
In this webinar, Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Asher Perlmutter, current CTO of Subway and former CTO of Restaurant Brands International (Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons), to unpack what he learned building technology across thousands of franchise locations in more than 120 countries.
Webinar
Your Customers Are Coaching You: Brynn Gibbs on Using reviews and context to improve execution
In this webinar, Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sits down with Brynn Gibbs, Founder & CEO of Consumer Fusion, to explore how customer feedback has become one of the most powerful inputs for performance coaching. They discuss how reviews and reputation data move beyond marketing – shaping execution, coaching conversations, and revenue outcomes across multi-unit brands – and where AI can automate insight while humans stay in the loop.
Webinar
Profitability Is the Strategy: Jennifer Durham on Why Franchise Growth Starts at the Unit Level
In this webinar, Gary Liskovich (CEO of Harmonyze) sits down with Jennifer Durham, a longtime franchise development leader who has helped scale brands like Checkers & Rally’s, Cooper’s Hawk, and Hand & Stone. They unpack a simple but often overlooked truth in franchising: profitability isn’t a downstream outcome of growth — it’s the foundation of it.
Webinar
From Data to Direction: Mike Skitzki on Franchise Performance Coaching with AI
Mike Skitzki, COO of Goldfish Swim School, and Gary Liskovich, CEO of Harmonyze, sit down to talk about franchise performance coaching and how it's changing with AI powered tools purpose-built for coaching.
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