John Barber, Chief Development Officer, Global Franchise Group
John Barber currently serves as Chief Development Officer for GFG. In this role, Barber is responsible for overseeing all domestic and international development for the Global Franchise Group family of brands including Marble Slab Creamery®, MaggieMoo’s®, Pretzelmaker® and Great American Cookies®.
Prior to joining GFG, Mr. Barber served as Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales for Focus Brands, an affiliate of Roark Capital.
Mr. Barber brings more than 25 years of experience in strategic management, sales and business development, acquisitions and organizational leadership to his current position at GFG. In addition to his franchise development work with Focus Brands, Mr. Barber worked with Hot Stuff Foods Lettieri’s, the franchisor of convenience stores’ “On the Go” food concepts, for several years in multiple leadership roles including Chief Customer Officer, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Executive Vice President of Development. While with Hot Stuff Foods Lettieri’s, he successfully led a concentrated expansion effort, resulting in the signing of 400 new franchise and license deals and launched a new licensing concept – “Hot Stuff Xpress.”
Mr. Barber’s management and development expertise spans a broad spectrum of industries, including foodservice, the beverage industry, and technology. He began his career with The Procter and Gamble Distributing Company, where he served as Unit Sales Manager in one of the largest retail markets in the United States. Following his time at The Procter and Gamble Distributing Company, Mr. Barber held executive positions with Pepsi-Cola North America, Manitowoc Beverage Systems Inc., and Foodbuy LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Compass Group PLC.
He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.