Mark and Mary Kay Liston are a power couple with valuable franchise experience and training in the Dwyer Group’s® Code of Values.
Mary Kay was named president of Five Star Painting and ProTect Painters when Dwyer Group® acquired them in 2015. This is the third franchise brand with Dwyer Group for Mary Kay. For the past three years she has served as vice president of operations at Mr. Appliance®, where the network grew from 155 franchises to over 185. Working with a team of talented franchise consultants, the company realized double-digit growth each year. She first came to Dwyer Group with Mr. Electric®, where she started their national sales program.
Mary Kay’s career in franchising began in 2003 when she joined the Valpak Direct Marketing Systems. During her six years there, Mary Kay led the company’s largest operation and turned it from having a negative cash flow to a highly profitable entity. In just her second year as general manager in Los Angeles, she and her team of 100 associates received the coveted Chairman’s Cup, Valpak’s highest award for sales and operations excellence. She cultivated relationships with franchisees to foster best practices across the network.
Mark joined Glass Doctor as the vice president of operations in April 2010. Mark’s experience in franchising began in 1981 when he joined Kinetico Incorporated and worked with Kinetico dealers throughout the world. After 18 years in the water treatment field, on both the corporate and franchise level, Mark joined Batteries Plus to lead their franchise development effort. Later, Mark joined Midas International in franchise development, where he awarded franchises throughout 27 states and western Canada.
Mark is also very involved in the International Franchise Association (IFA), where he currently sits on the Board of Directors. He is past chairman of the Board of Governors for the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives having earned his CFE in 2005. He is also on the IFA’s Educational Foundation Board of Trustees. Previously, Mark was a member of the VetFran Committee and IFA’s Public Relations Committee.
