Sally Facinelli, CFE, has led multiple franchise, supplier, and technology brands and advised numerous emerging concepts. With nearly 30 years of diverse experience, she is a natural leader and mentor known for her strategic creativity, composure under pressure, and ability to think, create, and act “outside the box.”

As President of Summa Franchise Consulting, Sally oversaw two portfolios, a Franchise Sales Organization and a Franchise Consulting Company encompassing seven brands and their leadership teams. Her role centered on driving strategic growth, innovation, and performance across all divisions while fostering collaboration and excellence at every level.

Sally is a dynamic, accomplished, and team-oriented executive whose experience includes progressive C-level management, business development, senior sales, operations, marketing, training, advisory positions, and consulting. She has an exceptional ability to stimulate sales growth, increase profitability, create marketing strategies and training programs, and build strong, effective teams.

Sally has proven to be a skilled executive, visionary, and entrepreneur whose franchise roots run deep. She is known for building exceptional brand visibility, and she has been an integral part of nearly all aspects of franchising, having worked with franchisors, master franchisees, franchisees, industry suppliers, and as a small business owner of several companies.

Sally is passionate about franchising and helping businesses convert visions into action, achieving measurable success, and helping people reach their personal and professional goals. She is a problem solver who takes businesses to the next level and opens doors.

Throughout her career, Sally has been actively involved with the International Franchise Association (IFA) as a facilitator, speaker, ambassador for new franchisors and suppliers, and a member of various IFA committees. She has also been an active co-chair with the local Franchise Business Network (FBN) and Women’s Franchise Network (WFN). Sally is a noted franchise mentor, source, speaker, and author. Business Woman magazine named her one of the 2020 Top 100 Influential Women in Franchising Worldwide and Top 10 Women Suppliers.

You will often see Sally adventuring with her three children, who are the lights of her life. She loves experiencing life, traveling the world, and trying new things. She has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, hike pyramids, and swim with sharks (while pregnant). She is always in pursuit of new adventures, personal growth, and development.

• Franchise Growth & Scalable Expansion (emerging brands to 500+ units)
• Strategic Vision, Business Transformation & Execution
• Revenue Growth, Profitability Optimization & Performance Acceleration
• Franchise Development, Master Franchise Expansion & Market Penetration
• Executive Leadership, Team Building & High-Performance Culture
• Coaching, Mentoring & Leadership Development
• Business Development, Sales Strategy & Client Acquisition
• Go-to-Market Strategy, Brand Positioning & Marketing Innovation
• Operational Excellence, Systems Design & Scalable Infrastructure
• Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnerships & Strategic Alliances
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Organizational Alignment
• Training Programs, Workshops & Executive Facilitation
• Contract Negotiation, Deal Structuring & Resource Allocation
• C-Level Relationship Building & Stakeholder Influence
• Public Speaking & Thought Leadership

• Business Woman magazine: 2020 Top 100 Influential Women in Franchising Worldwide
• Business Woman magazine: 2020 Top 10 Women Suppliers.

• 4/01/26: The Franchise Scale-Up Show
• 12/10/25: #ClockedIn: From Shy to Franchise Leader: Resilience, Purpose, and Building an Empire
• 7/25/25: Behind the Franchise
• 6/14/2025: The Thoughtful Entrepreneur
• 4/17/25: Bliss Business Podcast: “The Power of Human-Centered Partnerships in Business
• 4/5/25: Vision2Imgages Paws, Purpose, and Pet-Friendly Franchising
• 4/2025: RocketBarn Franchise Lessons Snippet
• 2/27/2025: Pet Brand Podcast
• 1/8/2025: The Entrepreneurial Blueprint
• 12/9/24: Emerging Franchise Brands
• 11/16/20: Business Women Magazine – The Power of the female wolfpack
• 10/30/2020: Why online brand reputation and AI is vital