trans·for·ma·tion
noun / ,trans·fər·ˈmā·shən/
The moment a leader sees their business clearly — and knows exactly what to do next.
Where Others Advise. We Transform.
What do the best-run consumer businesses in the world actually do differently?
Be it a leading franchisor or a food & beverage manufacturer, we built our diagnostic to answer exactly that — your System Readiness Score, benchmarking your business against the practices that separate industry leaders from everyone else.
StratonHunter combines proprietary AI diagnostics with hands-on executive expertise in franchise systems and food & beverage manufacturers so you can see exactly where you stand, and exactly what to do next.
System Readiness Overview
A single, quantified view of performance and readiness across four critical pillars.
Operating Performance
Brand & Demand Strength
Expansion Capability
Enterprise & Financial Readiness
Find Out Where You Stand.
Led by Rob Carmichael, our Franchise Growth division works with consumer-facing franchisor brands across every vertical — restaurant, retail, fitness, and beyond. Powered by PerformANT AI, our System Readiness Score diagnoses Head Office functionality, system operations, and scalability for franchisors ready to grow, optimize, or transact.
Explore Franchise Growth →
Led by Kim Cunningham, former COO of Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, our Manufacturing division offers direct executive oversight to mid-tier food & beverage manufacturers. Powered by PerformANT AI, our Growth Diagnostic identifies where margin, channel, and commercial opportunity are being missed.
Explore Manufacturing Growth →
We already know what separates a high-performing business from an average one — it’s the foundation of everything we do. So when you’re ready to sell, raise capital, or transact, you’re not starting from scratch with an outside advisor. You’re working with the team that already knows where your value lives. Led by Lubo Zizakovic — 30+ deals, nearly $1 billion transacted.
Talk to Our M&A Team →
Where Others Advise. We Transform.
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Backed by Experience. Focused on Your Outcome.
Robert Carter has spent two decades at the intersection of growth strategy, consumer intelligence, and enterprise value creation — working alongside North America’s leading restaurant, retail, franchise, FoodTech, and consumer brands through expansion, disruption, acquisition, and transformation. He has led strategic planning sessions for McDonald’s, Tim Hortons, A&W, Starbucks, and other global franchise leaders, and played an instrumental role in bringing Chick-fil-A to Canada.
Today his focus is on what comes next.
Robert believes AI will fundamentally reshape how companies operate, how consumers discover brands, how decisions get made, and how enterprise value is built. The next generation of market leaders won’t be defined by size alone — but by intelligence, adaptability, leadership alignment, and system discipline. It’s this conviction that sits at the heart of PerformANT AI and the System Readiness Score.
As President of The StratonHunter Group, Robert helps franchisor CEOs rethink growth through the lens of AI, operational intelligence, scalability, and long-term strategic positioning. A Stanford Executive Program graduate in Strategy and Organization, and inductee of the Ontario Hostelry Institute Hall of Fame.
"The companies that lead the next decade will not simply grow faster. They will think smarter, adapt earlier, and build systems designed for continuous evolution."
Rob Carmichael is an operator first. With 30+ years scaling multi-unit restaurant and retail brands across Canada, he has sat in the seat you’re in — managing P&L, driving unit-level performance, and building the systems that turn a good brand into a scalable one.
As a fractional COO and strategic advisor, Rob works directly alongside CEOs and ownership groups to connect strategy to execution — ensuring what gets planned actually works at the store level. He has led operational turnarounds, built franchise systems from the ground up, and guided founder-led businesses through the critical transition to structured, scalable organizations.
His focus is simple: grow in a disciplined, profitable, and scalable way.
"I'm not a career consultant. I'm an operator who understands what it takes to run the business day-to-day — and how to scale it."
Lubo Zizakovic brings something most franchise advisors simply don’t have — deep capital markets experience and a proven track record of doing deals at scale. With a career spanning investment banking, institutional securities, private equity, and M&A advisory, Lubo has spent three decades at the intersection of capital, strategy, and enterprise value creation.
Beginning at Scotia Capital in corporate finance before rising to Vice President of Business Operations at HSBC Securities, Lubo later co-founded Barrier Ridge Capital — a self-sponsored private equity firm where he and his team bought and sold over 30 companies across more than 20 transactions, transacting nearly $1 billion during his tenure.
For franchisor CEOs thinking about their next stage — whether attracting investment, preparing for acquisition, or building toward a liquidity event — Lubo is the person in the room who has done it before, at scale.
Jennifer Hennings brings a rare combination of frontline mastery and enterprise-level operational leadership that few advisors can match. With nearly 20 years inside some of Canada’s most recognized hospitality and franchise brands — including Recipe Unlimited, Cara Operations, and Sir Corp — she has led from every level of the organization, from the kitchen to the boardroom.
As Director of Operations Excellence & Planning at Recipe Unlimited, Jennifer built and led the systems that drive consistent execution across one of Canada’s largest multi-unit franchise organizations. Her superpower is turning operational complexity into scalable simplicity — the kind of clarity that shows up in your P&L, your franchisee satisfaction, and your system’s readiness to grow.
Tim Crowe began his career at The Keg Steakhouse + Bar, where he mastered the operational standards, training disciplines, and customer service culture that define one of North America’s most respected restaurant brands.
He then spent a decade at St. Louis Bar & Grill leading operations across 75+ locations and $125M+ in annual revenue — driving a 95% customer satisfaction rating through a national quality control initiative, building training programs that created consistent guest experiences system-wide, and developing the franchisee frameworks that ensure every location opens strong and performs consistently. He also launched the Wing City brand from concept to national expansion.
Tim brings to SHG deep expertise in multi-unit operations, franchisee training and success, customer satisfaction, and the systems that drive performance, consistency, and scalability across a growing franchise network.
"Well-executed operations is the engine that enables strategic ambition. Growth is only sustainable when the systems beneath it are built to last."
Jen Lacey has led franchise sales for more than 10 of the industry’s most recognizable brands — bringing a rare end-to-end perspective that spans franchise sales, legal compliance, site selection, and construction. From the first conversation with a prospective franchisee to the moment the doors open, she owns the entire development process.
With Director of Development roles at Topper’s Pizza, Cinnzeo Bakery Cafe, and beyond, Jen has built franchise pipelines that consistently prioritize the right partners over deal volume, brand integrity over short-term growth, and franchisee success over signatures on a page.
She brings to SHG something every growing franchisor needs — a development leader who knows how to scale a system the right way, with the right people, from day one.
"Sustainable franchise growth comes from selecting the right partners, securing the right sites, and building relationships that last beyond the deal."
Insights & Thought Leadership
Explore our latest research on franchise performance, AI in franchising, and M&A trends.
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