Chief Technology Officer - Franchisor

Position OverviewWe are seeking a Chief Information Officer to lead the technology strategy for a rapidly growing, multi-location organization.This is not a traditional CIO role focused solely on infrastructure, systems administration, and keeping technology running. We are looking for a business-minded technology executive who understands how technology can improve operations, create better customer experiences, increase productivity, enable scale, and become a competitive advantage.The ideal candidate has operated in a fast-paced growth environment where the business was expanding faster than its existing systems and processes. Experience within franchising, multi-unit operations, home services, consumer services, retail, hospitality, restaurants, healthcare services, or another distributed operating model is highly desirable.This leader should be comfortable balancing long-term technology strategy with the realities of running a large, decentralized organization today.Key ResponsibilitiesOwn and develop the company's enterprise technology strategy, ensuring technology investments directly support growth, operational efficiency, scalability, and the broader business strategy.Partner closely with the CEO and executive leadership team to identify opportunities where technology can solve business problems, improve performance, and create competitive advantages.Lead the modernization and integration of enterprise platforms, systems, infrastructure, applications, data, and digital capabilities.Evaluate the current technology environment and develop a clear roadmap for what should be retained, replaced, consolidated, integrated, or built.Create scalable technology infrastructure capable of supporting continued geographic expansion and a growing network of locations.Drive technology innovation across the organization, including automation, artificial intelligence, analytics, mobile technology, customer-facing platforms, and emerging technologies.Improve the company's ability to collect, organize, analyze, and use data for better decision-making across the organization.Oversee enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, infrastructure, cloud environments, business applications, integrations, disaster recovery, and technology governance.Develop a comprehensive cybersecurity and risk management strategy appropriate for a large, distributed organization.Ensure technology systems maintain appropriate standards for security, privacy, compliance, reliability, and business continuity.Lead technology vendor strategy, including vendor selection, contract negotiations, performance management, consolidation, and accountability.Build strong partnerships between technology and operating teams so technology initiatives are designed around actual business needs rather than technology for technology's sake.Establish clear technology KPIs and communicate progress, risks, investments, and outcomes to executive leadership.Build, develop, and lead a high-performing technology organization capable of supporting both today's operations and future growth.Transformation & ExecutionThe CIO will be expected to bring structure and speed to technology initiatives across the organization.Candidates should have meaningful experience working within Agile environments and understand how Agile principles can be applied beyond software development to improve the way technology teams prioritize, build, test, and deploy solutions.Experience with Scrum or similar Agile delivery frameworks is strongly preferred.The successful candidate should understand how to introduce structure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy and should be comfortable operating in an environment where priorities can change quickly.Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, continuous improvement, or other operational excellence methodologies is also valuable, particularly when those methodologies have been used alongside Agile technology practices.Ideal ExperienceWe are particularly interested in candidates who have:Led technology for a high-growth, multi-location, multi-state, franchise, or distributed organization.Served as a CIO, CTO, Chief Digital Officer, SVP/VP of Technology, VP of IT, or equivalent senior technology executive.Built or significantly transformed a technology organization rather than simply inheriting and maintaining one.Led major enterprise transformation initiatives involving multiple systems, departments, vendors, and stakeholders.Experience integrating technology environments following acquisitions, rapid expansion, or significant organizational growth.Worked directly with executive leadership and can translate complex technology issues into clear business decisions.Managed significant technology budgets and made disciplined decisions regarding where to invest, where to simplify, and where to eliminate unnecessary technology spending.Experience implementing or optimizing enterprise platforms such as ERP, CRM, financial systems, workforce management, field-service technology, data platforms, customer applications, and other business-critical systems.Led cybersecurity, infrastructure, cloud, data, applications, integrations, and technology governance at enterprise scale.Successfully implemented Agile methodologies and preferably Scrum within technology organizations.Leadership ProfileWe are looking for someone who is strategic enough to think several years ahead but operational enough to understand what is happening inside the business today.The right person will be comfortable walking into complexity.They will challenge legacy thinking when necessary, but they will not pursue technology simply because it is new.They will understand that successful technology transformation requires adoption, accountability, communication, and execution, not just software.Most importantly, this person will view technology through the lens of the business.The goal is not to have the newest technology stack.The goal is to build a technology organization that allows the company to operate smarter, move faster, serve customers better, and scale.