Dr. Ben Litalien, CFE

Dr. Benjamin 'Ben' C. Litalien is the Founder and Principal of Franchise Well, LLC, a consulting practice dedicated to the improvement and enhancement of franchising. He is also the Director of theFranchise Management Certificate Program at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Education where he teaches franchise professionals from across the country and around the world the franchise model. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Maryland Global Campus in Adelphi, MD where he teaches online courses in the business school.

Dr. Ben has invested over 3 decades of experience in the franchise community, with a broad range of executive management and franchise-building experience. His specific strengths include strategic growth planning, organizational communications, concept management, leadership and franchise development. He has created and implemented strategic plans for a diverse group of companies, and under his direction and management, he forged significant expansion in the United States and abroad, as well as increasing brand awareness and improving profitability.

Along with the numerous roles he takes on, Dr. Ben is also a recognized speaker on “Franchise Development” and “Franchising for Good”. He has also been referenced as a franchising expert in feature articles such as Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Entrepreneur Magazine and many more. Given his expertise and vast experience, he has also authored articles that appeared in industry periodicals such as Franchising World, Franchise Asia, and Successful Franchising. He also contributes to Forbes.com, sharing his insights on franchising. Additionally, he is a frequent speaker and presenter for franchise conventions and conferences including Kidding Academy, InXpress, RE/MAX, the International Franchise Association, Philippine Franchise Association, and Franchise Asia. 

After developing and selling four franchise concepts, Dr. Ben spent over four years as the U.S. Franchise Development Manager at ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing in Fairfax, Virginia. He managed the On the Run convenience store franchise for Exxon and Mobil branded distributors, creating a Regional Developer model that oversaw nearly 1,000 franchise units. His innovative work enabled ExxonMobil to sell the developer franchise program to a competitor. Since founding Franchise Well, he has been a trusted advisor for a diverse range of organizations using the franchise model, including IKEA, RE/MAX, Direct Energy, The UPS Store, Snap-on, Subway, ZEROREZ, fi20 USA, JIBU, and InXpress.

Furthermore, Dr. Ben is a member of the Academy of Management and the International Society of Franchising. He also serves on the Board of Directors for JIBU, a benefit organization that franchises retail water stores in East Africa and is highly regarded as one of the best “social franchises” in the world. He is also on the Board of Directors for Brain Balance, a retail franchise serving families with children that are autistic or with development issues.

Dr. Ben graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the Abilene Christian University in Texas and an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston. He also completed his doctoral program at the University of Maryland Global Campus focused on the theory of Social Franchise. In the year 2003, Dr. Ben received his Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) designation from the International Franchise Association and later on served on the ICFE Board of Governors for the IFA from 2013 to 2018.