Franchise Consulting Firm
Corporate Bios

• Mario Altiery

  President/Founder

  Upside Group Franchise Consulting firm founder and President Mario Altiery began his franchise career working for some of the world’s most successful franchises, including an international retail sign franchise, where he was Regional Vice President and pioneered the company’s sales and marketing processes, developed several national landmark programs, implemented a franchise consulting resale program, and institutionalized royalty maximization training seminars. He also specializes in the technology training industry and spearheaded the sales efforts for an internet-based technology training industry.

  Mario founded Upside Group Franchise Consulting to fill a need in the industry for comprehensive franchise consulting services that focus on accountability and unit growth. Regarded in the industry as an authority on franchise development and in the franchise consulting business, he is a regular speaker and trainer for the International Franchise Association (IFA) and International Institute for Franchise Education (IIFE).

• Elizabeth Moreno

  Director of Sales Support

  Management, marketing, sales and regional franchise development and operations are a few of the strengths Elizabeth offers to the Upside Group Franchise Consulting firm’s domestic and international franchise clients. She also specializes in managing profit and loss operations, negotiating leases, coordinating construction of new franchise sites, and multi-franchise cooperative marketing, and is a lead Upside Group Franchise Consulting trainer, developing and conducting seminars on various franchise sales topics.

• Larry A. Schwartz

  Senior Consultant

  Upside Group Senior Consultant Larry Schwartz has more than 18 years of corporate and business development experience and has held executive level positions in the ancillary healthcare and franchise consulting industries. During that time, he has been instrumental in developing and managing new business ventures and has spearheaded the growth of several start-up, early and middle stage companies.

  Larry began his career in the franchise consulting business as a Master Developer for a multi-brand organization in Southern California. Shortly after, he was asked to help lead the company’s national franchise consulting development efforts as well as assist in the launch of a new high-profile brand. In that capacity, Larry was responsible for developing, implementing and executing a national rollout strategy with emphasis on sales and marketing, resale transactions, contract negotiation and real estate procurement. He also served as regional Vice President for a multi-brand International franchise company where he was responsible for the development of several brands in the southwestern United States.

  Larry joined the Upside Group Franchise Consulting firm to pursue his passion for working with companies to develop new and existing concepts, create new business opportunities and facilitate the growth and development of Regional, National and International franchise systems.

• Heidi Bohi

  Creative Director

  As the Creative Director Heidi is an asset to the Upside Group Franchise Consulting firm and has won more than 50 state and national awards recognizing excellence in television and video production, soundtrack and radio production, branding, print and collateral development, and public relations, including: 10 Public Relations Society of America Awards (PRSA), seven advertising Telly Awards, and more than 30 Advertising Federation of America Awards. The signature stamp of her campaigns is that they are results-oriented and measurably promote franchises for some of the most established brands in some of the largest industry sectors.

  Heidi’s portfolio includes examples of work that prove her abilities to develop and implement strategies that are outstanding examples of concept, messaging, and effectiveness in promoting institutional programs, community relations, public affairs, marketing communications and long-term issues management. Additionally, Heidi writes for Operation Franchise Magazine and is regularly featured in other industry publications on franchise consulting and other franchise-related topics.

• Nicole Petrossi

  Marketing and Client Projects Liaison

  Nicole Petrossi serves as Upside Group’s Marketing and Client Projects Liaison, with project management responsibilities. A California native, with dual business degrees from Cal State Long Beach, Nicole has high-level, administrative experience across multiple industries. Under this role, Nicole will coordinate community outreach, monitor Upside Group's social media outlets, and streamline overall marketing processes. In addition, Nicole specializes in documentation and writing, with multiple authorships to her name, and assists with production of franchise manuals and our franchise consulting firm blog.

• Mar-Lyn Vitale

  Executive Administrator

  Mar-Lyn Vitale serves as Executive Administrator and brings over 15 years experience in administration and office management to Upside Group Franchise Consulting. Her responsibilities include managing the client SharePoint intranet, facilitating client communications, market research, event planning and coordination of vertical company communication systems. In addition, Mar-Lyn works closely with all members of the Upside Group Franchise Consulting firm and its respective client partners to ensure office support operations run smoothly.

• Mike Grace

  SEO Developer

  As Upside Group’s SEO developer, Mike is responsible for modifying or building client web sites according to search engine optimization standards, and through franchise consulting he develops website marketing plans that increase traffic to client sites.

• Chad Grant

  Design and Information Technology

  At Upside Group Franchise Consulting, Chad Grant serves as a creative design and information technology specialist. Under this role Chad develops marketing materials, websites, and maintains the Upside Group Franchise Consulting firm website, intranet and computer-based infrastructure. He has worked in the information technology field for over ten years serving in a variety of creative and technical roles.