Jennifer Durham, CPA
Senior Vice President, Franchising and Development at Potbelly
Jennifer Durham is senior vice president of franchising and development at Potbelly, where she is responsible for franchise recruitment and for market planning, real estate, and design and construction strategy. She previously served as chief development officer at Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa and at Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants, and before that spent her career at Checkers & Rally's Restaurants, where she moved from accounting manager through corporate controller and vice president of finance and IT into franchise development and, ultimately, senior vice president and chief development officer. She began her career in auditing and accounting at KPMG and Intermedia Communications, is a CPA, and holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Florida.
LinkedInIn their own words
“There's only one time in the agreement where royalties are adjusted, and we have an incentive if folks beat their opening timing where they don't pay, they pay half price royalties up until the time that they were required to open.”
“That, and if you're in development, somebody achieving or exceeding their goals is a sure sign that they're gonna wanna reinvest and continue that flywheel going.”
“things. But I also know that at the end of the day, there's just so many great examples of brands that did it right, and when I say they did it right, they focused on the franchise profitability and the success of each of their locations, as being their North Star. Brands that did it wrong may grow fast, but ultimately that foundation isn't strong and things start to wobble and ultimately growth slows as a result.”
Jennifer on Harmonyze
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
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.
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