Marco’s Pizza Expands Leadership Bench with Appointment of Brad Smith as VP of Franchise Growth

Marco's Pizza

Seasoned Franchise Executive Brings More Than Two Decades of Global Development Experience to Drive Marco’s Next Phase of Expansion

TOLEDO, OH – Marco’s Pizza, one of the nation’s fastest-growing pizza brands, announces the appointment of Brad Smith as Vice President of Franchise Growth, a strategic move that underscores the brand’s bold commitment to nationwide and international expansion.

With decades of experience leading high-performing development teams and driving franchise growth across multiple industries and continents, Smith is poised to play a pivotal role in Marco’s next phase of accelerated growth.

“Brad brings a rare combination of strategic vision, operational expertise, and global franchise insight,” said Gerardo Flores, Chief Development Officer of Marco’s Pizza. “As we continue to scale with purpose, his leadership will be instrumental in accelerating growth, deepening our operational excellence, and expanding our reach with high-caliber franchise partners.”

Driving Strategic Franchise Growth at Marco’s Pizza

Decades of Global Franchise Experience: With over 29 years in franchise development and operations, Smith has scaled brands from startup to more than 3,000 locations worldwide across industries including fitness, hospitality, home services, commercial cleaning, co-working, real estate, and restaurants.

Proven Track Record of Expansion: Smith has worked with over 3,500 franchise investor groups and has successfully led growth strategies across the U.S., LATAM, Europe, MENA, and Asia, including awarding multi-unit, area developer, and master franchise agreements.

Respected Industry Voice: A frequent speaker and panelist at top industry events including IFA, IFE, WCFE, AAHOA, and MUFC, Smith is widely regarded as a thought leader in franchise growth, operational alignment, and investor strategy.

Expertise in Franchise Systems: Smith brings hands-on experience in every phase of franchise development —hosting Discovery Days, managing compliance, and building franchisee support systems.

Award-Winning Leadership: He has been recognized by Franchise Business Review’s Top 50 every year since 2011, highlighting his consistent excellence in franchise operations, development, and stakeholder engagement.

Aligned with Marco’s Growth Vision: Smith’s appointment reflects Marco’s continued investment in world-class leadership as it pursues aggressive multi-unit growth, international expansion (particularly across LATAM and the Caribbean), and non-traditional development opportunities.

“Marco’s has created something truly special in franchising; a brand with operational rigor and an undeniable energy that’s fueling rapid growth,” said Smith. “My goal is to build on that strength by deepening support for our franchisees, expanding into new markets, and driving growth that creates opportunity across the system. I’m proud to join a brand that’s not just growing, it’s leading.”

Franchise Opportunities

Prospects are taking note of the business opportunity, as Marco’s Franchise Disclosure Document reports $1.3M AUV for the top 25% of franchised stores in 2024.*

To further support brand growth and franchise expansion, Marco’s recently launched a Franchise Development Royalty Incentive Program designed to reduce barriers for qualified multi-unit owners. With early-stage royalty incentives starting at 0%**, plus real estate, construction, and operations support, the brand offers a streamlined, resource-rich path to growth.

For more information Marco’s Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or contact Brad Smith at bradsmith@marcos.combradsmith@marcos.com or 419-279-5795.

ABOUT MARCO’S PIZZA  

Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco’s Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco’s was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale (“Pat”) Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,200 stores in 35 states with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Notably, Marco’s was recognized as America’s Favorite Restaurant in the Limited-Service Pizza category by Nation’s Restaurant News using Technomic Ignite Consumer 2024 data^ꝉꝉ. Other recent accolades include being recognized by QSR as one of the “16 Best Franchise Deals for 2025”, ranking No. 49 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2025 “Franchise 500” ranking, earning a coveted spot as the only top 5 pizza chain to rank on Newsweek’s 2025 “America’s Best Customer Service” in pizza chains list, earning a spot on QSR’s Top 50, and being featured on Nation’s Restaurant News’ prestigious “Top 500” ranking.

*Based on average sales volume of the top performing 25% (or 239 units) of Marco’s Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during our 2024 fiscal year. Of the 955 Franchised Stores that were in operation for our entire 2024 fiscal year, 239 were included in the top 25% set and 40% obtained or surpassed the average sales volume. This information excludes (i) international locations (including Puerto Rico); (ii) Franchised Stores not open for the entire 52-week period in 2024; (iii) special venue and non-traditional franchised locations; and (iv) Franchised Stores that closed in 2024. See Item 19 of our 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.

**The information provided in this article should not be construed as an offer to sell any Marco’s Pizza® franchises in, nor is any such communication directed to, the residents of any jurisdiction requiring registration of the franchise before it is offered and sold in that jurisdiction. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Marco’s Pizza® franchises will not be sold to any resident of such jurisdiction until the offering has been exempted from the requirements of, or duly registered in and declared effective by, such jurisdiction and the required franchise disclosure document (if applicable) has been delivered to the prospective franchisee before the sale in compliance with applicable law. Additionally, the participant must meet our financial, creditworthiness, and operational criteria to qualify for the incentive program and be approved by us to open each Store. If the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity, the qualifying participant must maintain at least 50% ownership in the entity, as well as the qualifying existing Stores, to qualify for this program, and the franchisee must comply with program requirements. In the event the participant fails at any time to meet the timelines to qualify for the applicable incentive program while developing a Store, the Store being developed and any remaining unopened Stores to be developed will pay the then-current standard Royalty Fee rate. See Marco’s Franchising’s Franchise Disclosure Document for more information. To qualify for the incentive program, the participant must sign a development agreement and open the stores within the following timeframes: 1^st Store within 365 days of signing; 2^nd Store within 6 months of 1^st store opening; 3^rd Store within 6 months of 2^nd store opening; 4^th Store within 6 months of 3^rd store opening; 5^th Store within 6 months of 4^th store opening. 

^ꝉꝉAccording to Technomic’s 2024 America’s Favorite Restaurants data, Marco’s Pizza secured the top spot in the Limited-Service Pizza category with a 53.4% composite top-box rating, indicating the share of recent guests who gave the brand the highest possible rating for each of the guest experience attributes. Data for America’s Favorite Chains comes from Technomic Ignite Consumer, which collects information about how brands impact consumers and how consumers interact with those brands, via online surveys. See here for more information: www.technomic.com/ignite-consumer.