ARCHADECK - Key Persons
Alex joined the team in 2018 and holds the position of Brand Marketing Manager for Archadeck and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives. She serves as the franchisees' main point of contact for their marketing needs and works with the team to put together the marketing strategy for the brand.
Previously, Alex worked as an account executive at a full-service marketing agency where she managed a variety of projects including brand refreshes, websites, print, strategy and more. She is also a Past President of the Board of the American Marketing Association Richmond Chapter. Alex graduated from the University of Virginia and currently resides in Richmond, VA with her husband, Brian, daughter, Aubrey, and dog, Kona.
Job Titles:
- Digital Marketing Manager
Job Titles:
- Director of Franchise Support
- Franchise Business Consultant - General Support
Chris Koch joined Empower Brands and the Archadeck team in February of 2018 as Director of Franchise Support. Ms. Koch works with the Archadeck franchisees to provide business and operations support. In her previous positions in franchise support with both Pearle Vision and Smartbox Moving and Storage she worked with franchise owners to help them achieve their business goals. At Archadeck her efforts are concentrated specifically on working with each franchisee to improve daily business operational efficencies, provide ongoing performance evaluation, and strategic planning support. Ms. Koch also consults with franchisees on the utilization of the Archadeck technology tools to improve local efficiencies and sales while working with the Empower Brands IT team to ensure that these tools are fulfilling the business needs of the franchisees.
Ms. Koch graduated from the University of Lynchburg and currently lives in Glen Allen, Virginia with her husband and twin boys.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Empower Brands
As the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Empower Brands, Mr. Schroeder has responsibilities that include overseeing franchise compliance matters, working to support the strategic direction of the company, assisting franchisees to evaluate the financial performance of their businesses, and the financial reporting and management of the business.
Mr. Schroeder served as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Archadeck from 2006 until Empower Brands was formed. Before Archadeck, he held a position at CarMax's corporate treasury department. He also spent many years in merger and acquisition investment banking at Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. in Richmond, Virginia. He served in an advisory capacity on many transactions throughout his investment banking career, including private equity and debt financings, divestitures, acquisitions, and corporate sales.
Mr. Schroeder received his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance from the University of Richmond. He also has a Master's Degree in Accounting from the College of William and Mary and even holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Mr. Schroeder currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife, Jessica, and their two children.
Job Titles:
- Technology Training and Support Consultant
Job Titles:
- Franchise Business Consultant - Design / Pricing
Ed's career with Archadeck began in the construction and Drafting Department in 1989. As the business grew, so did his role at the company. He spent several years as the Director of Construction and Drafting while transitioning into a support role as a field consultant and trainer for Archadeck. Now he serves as the Brands Director of Design and Pricing. His new role involves training new design consultants and franchisees in a way that focuses on construction, design, and the pricing aspects of Archadeck University's training program. He even helped develop "Tally," Archadeck's proprietary estimating tool.
Ed spends a lot of his time consulting with offices across North America about estimations, construction, design, and operations through annual field visits and web-based, one-on-one training.
Before joining the Archadeck team, Ed attended the Architecture program at Penn State University, He was a self-employed design/build remodeler with a focus in carpentry, roofing, and masonry.
Job Titles:
- Franchise Technology Manager
Job Titles:
- Director of Franchise Development
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing
- Its Director of Marketing
Jane Campbell joined Empower Brands in 2009 and now serves as its Director of Marketing. She leads the marketing department for Empower Brands' family of franchises. With a robust knowledge of marketing tactics and techniques, she works closely with the team to budget, implement, and evaluate refine marketing plans - both national and local. Ms. Campbell identifies, researches, and vets new potential partners that support the priorities and growth goals of the Archadeck brand.
Ms. Campbell graduated from University of Richmond and currently resides in Maine with her husband Drew, and two sons, Walker and Wyatt.
Job Titles:
- Franchise Business Consultant - Field Operations
Job Titles:
- Director of Drafting and Construction
Job Titles:
- Brand Marketing Specialist
Kelly joined the Empower Brands team in 2023 and is a Brand Marketing Specialist for Archadeck and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives. Serving as a point of contact for franchisees, Kelly works with the rest of the marketing team to assist franchisees with any of their marketing needs.
Previously, Kelly worked at a digital marketing agency as an account strategist, giving her digital marketing experience in various areas including SEO, content writing, social media, Google ads, and more. She is excited to utilize her knowledge and expertise to help franchisees achieve their marketing goals!
Kelly graduated from Virginia Tech and currently resides in Richmond, Virginia with her fiancé, Matt, and her German shepherd, Buck.
In 1995, Matt joined Archadeck Outdoor Living and now serves as the team's Drafting Leader. He assists Archadeck franchisees every day by providing assistance with engineering and construction support. Matt also provides structural proposals and sketches in order to ensure each Archadeck Outdoor Living office maintains job flow. This makes it easier and more efficient for franchisees to provide top-quality client service. Additionally, Matt helps with new franchisee training and even leads some of the Archadeck University training seminars.
Another one of Matt's responsibilities as the Drafting Department's Team Leader involves overseeing the Drafting Database Information Forms and aids in the construction process. He monitors each sold project through Archadeck's pre-screening procedure and performs drafting omissions checks to make sure every job is sent to the franchisee promptly and properly.
Matt also assists Victor Weaver by ensuring the correct updates are carried out for residential and commercial building codes on an as-needed basis.
Job Titles:
- Brand Leader and Vice President
As the Brand Leader, Michael Reeder handles the daily operations of Archadeck's franchise system. He is responsible for mentoring, training, and coaching franchisees - both new and existing. He also closely monitors system growth and leads the franchise recruitment process by selecting candidates to join Archadeck.
Mr. Reeder worked in the hospitality business with Hyatt Hotels for 15 years before beginning his career as an Archadeck franchisee in Columbus, Ohio. From the day his entrepreneurship with Archadeck began in August, 2001 until the end of 2015, he successfully grew the business to $2 million in yearly revenue.
In 2012, Michael received the "Presidents Award" for outstanding franchisee of the year. He also served on the Strategic Advisory Board, as the Midwest Regional President for 2 terms, and on many franchise committees throughout his tenure. He sold his business in early 2016 to take on a new position as Archadeck's Brand Leader.
Michael's expertise in business management, operations management, and sales are what made him the best candidate to bring Archadeck to new heights. Mr. Reeder received his Degree in Business Management from the University of Houston. He currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife, Carol, and their two boys - Kyle and Jacob.
Monica Vaughan became Shipping and Receiving Clerk in 1991 when she first joined the Archadeck team. During this time, she also gave the franchise marketing and development teams valuable administrative support. In the late 1990's, Ms. Vaughan was promoted and joined the accounting department, giving administrative support to the CEO and COO. As the Archadeck Outdoor Living franchise system grew, she promoted to become the growing drafting team's Production Coordinator. Today, Ms. Vaughan provides franchise support by tracking and logging sold projects for the entire franchise system. Additionally, she handles general support duties and contracts auditing for the accounting and Drafting Departments for every Archadeck franchise office.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Lynx Franchising
- President and CEO of Empower Brands
Scott Zide serves as Chief Executive Officer of Lynx Franchising, a multi-branded franchisor focused on residential and commercial services through its seven franchise brands - Jan-Pro Cleaning & Disinfecting, FRSTeam, Intelligent Office, Archadeck Outdoor Living, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, Conserva Irrigation, and Superior Fence & Rail.
Zide has spent the entirety of his career in franchising, starting out as a franchisee of multiple concepts and the transitioning to leadership roles at the franchisor. He started with two restaurant franchises before opening the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis location with his wife Erin. After achieving success with the brand as a franchisee, he was recruited as the Director of Franchise Operations for the franchisor in Charlotte, NC where he eventually became Vice President. While helping to build the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives brand to 65+ locations, he and his business partners also co-founded Mosquito Squad - the first and leading mosquito control company.
In late 2008, Zide co-founded Empower Brands when Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, Archadeck Outdoor Living and Mosquito Squad came together under one parent company and served as its President & Chief Operating Officer until early 2022. Empower Brands was created to bring together residential home services brands that serve the same clientele, providing franchisee with growth and diversification opportunities.
As President & COO of Empower Brands, Zide managed the day-to-day operations, franchise support teams, and all shared service departments. He played an integral role in the acquisition and divestiture of brands and the piloting of a brand new franchise - Conserva Irrigation.
In September 2021, Lynx Franchising acquired Empower Brands and named Zide its CEO in March 2022. As CEO, Zide leads the executive team at Lynx and is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the company, including its growth through its existing brands and the acquisition of new ones.
Zide attended the University of Kansas and currently resides in Richmond, Virginia with his wife Erin and two kids, Brooke and Brennan.
Mr. Nguyen firmly believes that graphic design is about much more than appearance -what it is trying to communicate is just as important. Our Empower Brands' award-winning graphic designer utilizes his diverse art background and comes up with compelling ways to use typography, photography, composition, color, concept, and other media to create successful, clear projects.
Mr. Nguyen attended Fredonia State University of New York and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design. He currently resides in Richmond, VA with his wife, Micki, son, Levi, and daughter, Skylar
Job Titles:
- Franchise Support Consultant