About Us

About Us

The Franchise Consortium is a pioneering organization dedicated to elevating the franchise industry by connecting franchisors and franchisees with elite, accredited suppliers. We serve as a trusted shortcut to informed decision making, offering a curated network of proven, value-driven suppliers who have demonstrated excellence and credibility in their targeted areas of expertise. Through our rigorous accreditation program, we set the gold standard for supplier quality, reliability, and ethical business practices. The Franchise Consortium is committed to helping the very best suppliers stand out in a crowded marketplace, while streamlining the supplier selection process for franchisors and franchisees. Our pledge is to ensure that accredited members gain unparalleled visibility and credibility, positioning them as the go-to choices for franchise partnerships.

Keith Gerson, CFE

Keith Gerson, CFE, drawing from over 50 years of franchising expertise, has joined forces with Bill Edwards to launch The Franchise Consortium, creating the franchise industry’s first standardized supplier accreditation system. This groundbreaking platform reflects Keith’s passion for elevating industry standards by implementing data-driven evaluation processes that help franchise organizations build more reliable, validated partnerships.

Keith currently serves as President and CEO at Gerson Advisory Services, which launched in January 2024 following his 12-year tenure as President of Franchise Operations at FranConnect. In this capacity, he worked closely with hundreds of Executive Boards and Leadership Teams across FranConnect’s portfolio of 1500+ brands and 500,000+ franchise locations. His extensive experience as both a franchisor and franchisee has established him as a proven leader in building rapid-growth, highly profitable franchise organizations.

Throughout his career, Keith has demonstrated exceptional expertise in helping franchisors achieve their desired future state in franchise sales, operations, communications, and engagement. He has successfully created several leading franchise systems from inception through launch, guiding them from emerging brands to highly recognizable enterprise-level organizations. His comprehensive understanding of franchise dynamics and ability to drive execution has made him a sought-after industry expert.

Keith’s contributions to the franchise industry include his widely acclaimed books, “The Franchise Book of Mentors” and “The Franchise Operations Challenge,” with all proceeds benefiting the VetFran program. His thought leadership extends to the FranConnect Franchise Sales Index and co-authored Franchise Operations Index Report, which have been published for ten consecutive years. As a highly rated keynote speaker and author, Keith continues to share his expertise in franchise sales and development, operations, marketing, strategic planning, budget attainment, and performance management.

His comprehensive expertise encompasses franchise sales and development, operations, marketing, strategic planning, budget attainment, and performance management. As a respected keynote and motivational speaker, Keith regularly contributes to franchise content development, helping to shape the industry’s future.

Bill Edwards, CFE

As co-founder of The Franchise Consortium alongside Keith Gerson, William (Bill) Edwards, CFE, has pioneered an innovative program that brings objective, data-driven accreditation to franchise supplier selection. This groundbreaking initiative transforms how the franchise community builds trusted partnerships through comprehensive supplier evaluation and validation, drawing from both founders’ extensive experience as franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers.

Bill brings five decades of international business development expertise to his role as Founder and CEO of Edwards Global Services, Inc. (EGS), a leading international franchise operations and development company. Over the years, Bill has successfully guided more than 40 companies across 12 business sectors in their global expansion efforts, leveraging his extensive experience living in seven countries and working on projects in over 40 nations.

Prior to founding EGS in 2001, Bill held executive positions with AlphaGraphics, Inc., where he expanded the company’s presence from 4 to 20+ countries as Senior Vice President of International Operations and Development. He was also AlphaGraphics’ Country Master Licensee in China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Turkey.

Bill has published the GlobalVue™ 40 country ranking chart quarterly since 2001 and he also writes the widely read Geowizard™ biweekly global business newsletter. He has authored over 50 articles on international business development. His expertise has earned him two U.S. Presidential Awards for Export Excellence and he is a member of the Services Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) advising the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative on franchise related trade issues.

Bill currently serves on several notable boards, including the Titus Center for Franchising at Palm Beach Atlantic University and the University of New Hampshire William Rosenberg International Franchise Center. He is an active member of the International Franchise Association and a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE).

What Our Clients Are Saying

“Bill Edwards is the absolute leader in global market assessment, analysis, and business development. His vast network around the world provides unmatched guidance to both new and existing brands.”
Jeff Bevis, CEO Concierge Care
“I highly recommend Keith Gerson for entrepreneurs growing an emerging brand or more mature companies looking for a fresh perspective.”
Kevin Wilson, Chairman & CEO of Buzz Franchise Brands.
“One reason I have worked with Bill Edwards and his Team over the years is that they are the only franchise consultants with a proven, trademarked going global processes.”
Ned Lyerly, Former CEO, CKE Restaurants
“Under Keith Gerson’s leadership as President and COO, PuroClean became one of the fastest growing franchise systems in North America, literally tripling in size from 92 locations to over 300 in a three-year period. Consumer level revenues grew from $46 million to $90 million, and profitability of the organization soared 3.5 times. We are grateful to Keith Gerson for the contributions he made to the PuroClean Franchise System.”
David McKinnon, Co-Chairman of the Board
“Bill and EGS are the leading authority on franchising outside the USA.”
Darrell Johnson, CEO, FRANdata
“Keith is the best expert in the area of franchise brand marketing that I have known.”
Joe White, FranChoice