Effective August 1, 2021, John Teza will replace Todd Leff as Chief Executive Officer at Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa. John has been with the company for a little over a year, serving as President and Chief Development Officer.
“John has taken on multiple responsibilities in this last year with Hand & Stone, but most impressive has been his time in the Franchise Development role. He has already overseen the recovery of unit development through the post-COVID period and led two significant acquisitions this past year. John has helped Hand & Stone become the only major concept in the category to grow units during a challenging period,” said Todd Leff, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Teza came to Hand & Stone after serving as a Principal at NRD Capital Management leading operational and strategic functions for a number of restaurant and retail concepts. Prior to that, he was Chief Development Officer at Jersey Mike’s Subs where he directed all aspects of brand expansion for the New Jersey based chain of 1,750+ units and $1.2 billion in system-wide sales.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to take this brand to the next level. The existing leadership team has laid the foundation for a very successful future by making investments in technology, identifying consumer trends, adding services to meet those trends and developing an execution plan that helps our franchisees succeed,” said Teza.
Current CEO, Todd Leff, will be stepping back from day-to-day responsibilities with the Company, but will stay on as Chairman of the Board. Todd has served in the CEO role since 2009 and has guided the company into its leadership position starting with 26 spas and growing to the current 500+ spas in the US and Canada – including the Massage Experts brand in Canada. With a strong recovery in unit level sales and unprecedented demand, Hand & Stone is on track to exceed $550 million in system wide sales in 2021.
“It is comforting to know that Todd’s guidance and leadership is not going away as we take Hand & Stone to the next level. The brand certainly wouldn’t be in the position it is in today without his leadership and the team and our franchise partners share in congratulating him for taking some much deserved time to pursue his passions: competing in triathlons, board positions for several brands and organizations, and philanthropic efforts, all while still lending us his support,” added Teza.
Separately, Jarred Fajerski has been elevated to Chief of Stores (CSO) where he will continue to oversee operations support, recruiting and the performance of all franchise and company-owned spa locations. Jarred started with Hand & Stone in 2014 as Vice President of Operations and was later promoted to Senior Vice President. With his staff of operations managers, he has helped develop programs that have grown the Hand & Stone system to over 525,000 members across the US and Canada.
“Jarred has been an instrumental part of our growth and our ‘V-shaped’ recovery from COVID. His ability to get a large team to understand KPI data, translate that to franchisees in building action plans for their teams, while maintaining the core values of the brand has been key for our continued year-on-year growth and quick rebound from COVID,” said Teza.
About Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa
Hand & Stone is a 500-plus unit massage and facial spa franchise with a mission to bring massage and facial services to the masses. Launched in 2004, Hand & Stone now has locations in 33 states and Canada. The brand has been named number #1 in the spa category by Entrepreneur Magazine for 2020 and 2021, ranked number #8 on Forbes' Best Franchises to Buy list for 2019 in the high investment category and is the fastest growing spa concept in the country. For more information on Hand & Stone, visit handandstone.com.