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The growth of Instant Imprints is supported by a seasoned, effective Executive and Management Team and Board of Directors
| Ralph Askar, President, CEO, Director and Shareholder |
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With a proven record of accomplishments as one of Mail Boxes Etc. & The UPS Store's most successful multiple Area Franchisee's and Multiple International Master Licensee's, Ralph brings 25+ years of hands-on franchising experience to Instant Imprints. Ralph was an officer of Mail Boxes Etc’s parent company from 1995-1997 and headed the domestic and International franchise development departments as Vice President. Ralph purchased the Instant Imprints Master License for Canada in January of 2008. Ralph is the President and CEO of Instant Imprints Canada and USA. |
| Christian Collucci, COO, Director and Shareholder |
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Christian brings a broad base of experience to the Instant Imprints leadership team, with an MBA complemented by over a decade of leadership experience in both franchised and corporate environments. Christian's expertise spans across sales, marketing and operations functions with some of Canada's leading companies. He was a successful manager with Future Shop for 7 years, where he ran their tradeshow business while also opening and relocating several stores. He then spent 2 years with Hartco, Canada's leading franchisor of systems integrators and computer stores. In this role, Christian oversaw all store merchandising and retail operations initiatives before launching their entry into digital AV market. Prior to joining Instant Imprints Canada, Christian was with Grand & Toy developing sales and marketing programs for their technology business unit and leading a direct sales organization in the Greater Toronto Area.
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| Danny Lyon, Director and Shareholder |
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Mr. Lyon joined Instant Imprints as an Area Franchisee in spring, 2010. For the past 14 years Danny has been a key part of an Area Franchise team with The UPS Store Canada. Notably, he and his partners were recognized in 2002 by winning the Canadian Area Franchisee Award of Excellence, presented in Calgary by MBE Canada, and the International Area Franchisee of the Year, presented in Las Vegas by MBE U.S. Their current Area now includes Alberta, Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories with 50 operating stores and the Trillium IGTA Area in Ontario which has 108 operating stores. In 2010, this Area team has expanded again to include the Instant Imprints Area Franchise for Alberta. Danny also is an accomplished athlete, having completed more than 58 marathons, is a motivational speaker, and a published author of a guide for achieving personal and professional success.
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| Bent Petersen, Acting CFO, Director and Shareholder |
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Mr. Petersen became a shareholder and CFO of Instant Imprints in October of 2008. He is President of Petersen Enterprises Inc., a company that owns and operates The UPS Store Area and individual franchise licenses in Montana. Mr. Petersen began his franchising career in 1989 and eventually opened and managed over 160 The UPS Store locations throughout the Northwest. He is a past President of the MBE Area Franchise Association and was a member of MBE's Franchise Sales Advisory Board. Mr. Petersen was a licensed CPA in the State of California for over 30 years, 22 years of which was with Coopers & Lybrand. He also served as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Oasis Petroleum Corporation and a member of the Board of Directors of Magma Power Company.
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| Wilson Sawyer, Director and Shareholder |
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Mr. Sawyer joined Instant Imprints as an Area Franchisee in April, 2005. He currently serves on the Board of Directors and is a shareholder of No Frill Franchising, Inc. Mr. Sawyer began his retail career in 1963 with Maxway Stores Inc (formerly Mack's Stores, Inc). While employed with Maxway, he held the positions of Manager Trainee, Store Manager, District Manager, Director of Operations, Executive Vice President, President and COO. During this time, Maxway grew from 25 stores to a peak of 118 stores. Mr. Sawyer is currently President and COO of the Variety Stores, Inc. division of Maxway. Variety Stores, Inc. currently operates approximately 400 stores across 14 states ranging in size from 4,000 to 70,000 square feet.
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| John Tillger, Director and Shareholder |
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John Tillger (M.B.A.) is a career senior executive with over 35 years of management experience in transportation, distribution and supply chain management in Canada and Europe. In addition, he has been involved as an Area franchise owner for 18 years with the UPS Store Canada, where he and his team built the franchise network from 6 units through 80 units. John currently provides project management services to I.I. CA Inc.
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| Bob Baker, Vice President of Operations |
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Bob has over 25 years of experience in this industry including a wealth of knowledge in the areas of embroidery, digital printing, screen printing and many others. Bob has held senior management positions at TEXMAC, SWF/Mesa, and Stitch City (the Southern California Distributor for Brother, Int'l) and had his own contract digital printing company, Apparel Printing Systems. |
| Jim Blackburn, Executive Vice President |
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Jim brings more than 32 years of Information Technology (IT) and small business experience to his position with the company, including over 12 years in franchising. Prior to joining Instant Imprints, he was Operations Manager for Concerto Networks and Director of IT at Image Arts, Etc. Mr. Blackburn has held management positions with Fox Photo, Fotomat Corporation, Warp Nine Imaging and several other imaging companies in San Diego, CA. |
| Victor DeSio, Director of Development, Western Region |
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Victor is a Certified Franchise Executive “CFE” with an MBA and over 20 years' experience in all aspects of franchising including, development, operations and support. His entrepreneurial background includes direct involvement in the startup of Mail Boxes Etc. “MBE”, now known as The UPS Store. Victor has also held senior positions with other franchise organizations, such as Muzak, LivHOME, AIM Mail Centers, and Jenny Craig. Victor joined Instant Imprints in October of 2012. |
| Jay Holguin, Vice President of Marketing |
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Jay served as the Director of Marketing as well as Director of Business Development for the U.S.'s largest concrete rooftile manufacturer, having grown sales from the company's inception to over $150 million and multiple manufacturing facilities nationwide. Jay has over 20 years experience in business development and strategic marketing. As an Instant Imprints Franchisee for 3 years, his store experienced success in a small, isolated market. In 2008, Jay joined the management team of Instant Imprints Franchising Inc. |
| Ellis Schaffer, Controller, USA |
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Ellis has over 16 years in finance and accounting. Prior to joining Instant Imprints, he was with Concerto Networks franchising. In addition, he managed his own accounting services business as well as working in a variety of roles in the banking, manufacturing and Biotech industries. Ellis joined Instant Imprints in 2008. |
| Bryan Smith, Senior Vice President of Franchise Development |
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Bryan started in franchising in 1990 with Sign A Rama, which at that time was a start up franchise. From 1990-1994, Bryan worked as a manager of a company owned location and Director of Vendors and Support Services. In 1994, he was promoted to Vice President of the Upper Mid-Atlantic region in Philadelphia and added dozens of centers to the region and increased the percentage of revenues to the top performing region in the company. In 2001, he became the Vice President of Canadian Operations and handled all franchising responsibilities for the country. In July 2007, he came back to the US as the Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Region, representing 4 franchisors, (Sign A Rama, EmbroideMe, Billboard Connection and Plan Ahead Events.) winning awards in 3 of the next 4 years.
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| Eric Welch, General Counsel, USA |
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Eric Welch serves as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of the Company. Mr. Welch graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of California San Diego and received his Juris Doctororate from the University of San Diego School of Law and is entering his tenth year of practice. |
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