M
ark Otter spent the early years of his career learning the ropes of franchising on the restaurant side. He spent 7 years as a division president for a national burger brand, and before that 5 years as a franchisee of an upscale steak and seafood brand. Four years ago, when he saw an opportunity to step into the C-suite at MassageLuXe, he jumped right in. Today, he is president and CEO of the spa brand, which offers massages, facials, and waxing. Massage therapy is big business. A recent study by the American Massage Therapy Association documented it as an $18 billion industry—and growing. That’s one of the reasons Otter is on a quest to see MassageLuXe grow from its current 69 locations to 250 locations in the next 5 years. “The plans around that are to continue to add great people to support the franchise base and to become the premier provider of massages and facials,” he says. Otter believes that communication and teamwork will always be followed by success and growth. Hard work and building relationships have been two of the cornerstones to his success. Franchisees and their success, he says, is a key factor in his leadership approach. “My role is to assure the success of franchisees and facilitate the growth of the brand.” Otter doesn’t shy away from bold predictions and says to expect an “explosion” of growth in the next year as he continues bringing in the right team members to support the system’s 5-year plan. “People are going to see who we are in the business community, and people are going to want to get on that train,” he says.
PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF! MassageLuXe preps for an “explosion” of growth Written By KERRY PIPES
President, CEO
What has inspired your leadership style? Through the years, I have worked for many great leaders. I am a voracious reader of leadership books and I like to understand leaders of the past. I have taken a lot from great leaders I have worked with in the past. I learned to listen to them and to see what was successful and what was not. I believe a great leader is constantly learning how to get the best out of people and how to connect with different personalities.
Company: MassageLuXe Units: 69 Age: 60 Years in franchising: 10 Years in current position: 3 FRANCHISEUpdate
How has Covid-19 affected the way you lead your brand? Other than all of the obvious procedural issues that had to be addressed for the safety of all of our clients and staff, the main thing I have done is simply deepen the resolve to be there for our clients, our franchisee partners, and their staffs. Leading in challenging times takes constant learning, constant communication, and the deep-down desire to help all successfully accomplish their goals. And, of course, the ability to change direction on a dime if new information becomes available. Describe your leadership style. First and foremost, building relationships is what is most important to me. The first thing we need to do is tap into everyone’s emotional piggy bank. It is important to always make deposits. My team members need to know I am there for them and reasonable, but that I have high expectations of them. They must be willing to give their all.
MARK OTTER
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LEADERSHIP What is your role as CEO? To organize the company and ready it for growth. I have been getting the team in the right place and structuring the team so it is both proactive and reactive with the franchise base. My primary role is to assure the success of current franchisees, and secondly to facilitate the growth of the brand.
ISSUE 4, 2020
