Former International Franchise Association chairman Jim Amos grew Mail Boxes Etc., now The UPS Store, into one of the world’s largest and best known franchise systems, and has also led brands such as I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt, Tasti D-Lite, Planet Smoothie and Sona MedSpa.
His success and his influence on the franchise industry earned him induction into the IFA Hall of Fame in 2011. In addition to the companies he has helmed, he has provided guidance to many other organizations as a member of their boards of directors. He helped Proctor and Gamble tap into the power of business format franchising as an advisor and chairman of P&G’s Agile Pursuits Franchising Inc.
Nathan Estruth, a former vice president at Proctor and Gamble, describes his first meeting with Jim: “I heard a little bit about his UPS experience and I told him that I was running Proctor and Gamble’s new business operation called Future Works. And he immediately looked at me and he just said, ‘Has P&G ever thought of the opportunity that franchising offers it to grow its brands and its businesses?’ And I said, ‘As a matter of fact, yes, I’ve written a white paper on this subject and I’m trying to convince P&G management of why this is a business model we should enter into — would you mind looking at it?’ And he just about gave me a hug right there in the coffee room and he said, ‘Well, I’d love to do that,’ and we immediately started talking about the power of brands in franchising and the importance of unit economics and on and on. It was the beginning of Jim’s tutorial for me into the world of franchising.”
Few things have given Jim more pleasure over the years than mentoring young leaders and helping them drive success for their organizations. Jim’s more than thirty years of business leadership stretches from the stagflation of the 1970s to the Reagan boom years, the Clinton and Bush economic expansion and the Great Recession. Throughout, he has grown companies and learned lessons, hitting a few potholes along the way. He welcomes opportunities to share his successes and failures so that others can meet and exceed their goals.
Jim’s desire to lead and to serve preceded his business career. He served as a Marine Corp. captain and did two combat tours during the Vietnam War, where he received 12 decorations. His experiences in the war underpin his award-winning novel, The Memorial, which was chosen as one of the best books of 1990 by the American Library Association.
You can contact Jim Amos here.
