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Flynn Group is the largest franchise operator in the United States, focusing on multi-brand restaurant and retail operations. Founded in 1999 by Greg Flynn, the company has expanded significantly from its beginnings as a single-market Applebee’s operator. It now manages a diverse portfolio that includes well-known brands such as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Panera Bread, and Arby’s, with over 2,500 locations across the country. The company specializes in franchise management, acquiring and optimizing underperforming locations to enhance operational efficiency and drive sales growth. Flynn Groups acquisition strategy has led to substantial growth, including the recent addition of 45 Pizza Hut locations in 2025, bringing its total to over 1,000. With a people-first approach, Flynn Group emphasizes employee training and retention, ensuring consistent customer experiences across its various dining segments.
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions supplies the industrys widest range of clean water solutions for drinking water, hygiene and sustainable water management. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Zurn Elkay works with customers around the globe to deliver products and systems that enhance and ensure water quality, safety, hygiene, flow control and conservation. From healthcare to hospitality, education to retail and residential to office facilities, we pride ourselves on meeting specialized needs for every market, focusing on quality, reliability, quick installation and easy maintenance. Our values of Continuous Improvement, Integrity in Everything We Do, Customer First, Culture of Winning, and Total Associate Engagement serve as our drive to achieve world-class safety, quality, delivery, cost and growth now and in the future. In everything we do, we are sustainably inspired. We work to make our communities better with volunteerism and philanthropy, and support diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside our walls. We seek to uphold our promise to the planet every day by providing sustainable water management solutions.
The Big O Tires story begins back in 1962, just as Americas new love affair with the automobile was hitting high gear. The market for replacement tires was exploding, and independent tire dealers found themselves struggling to compete in the face of low prices offered by major tire manufacturers own company stores. Big Os founding fathers were a handful of progressive independent tire dealers who decided to band together to form a tire-buying cooperative so that they could secure volume pricing and keep their customers happy. Their concept worked. In the years that followed, The Big O Tires co-op evolved into a full-fledged franchise as it continued to find innovative ways to harness the power of the collective to benefit independent dealerships and their customers. Almost a half-decade later, Big O Tires has become North Americas largest retail tire franchisor, with over 400 independently-owned and operated locations in 20 states, providing customers with a broad range of automotive services in addition to quality tires, wheels and accessories. Big O has become an industry role model admired for its innovative approach to franchising and unmatched customer loyalty ratings. In 1996, Big O Tires joined forces with one of the largest and most respected tire marketers in the nation when it became part of the TBC Retail Group, an automotive retail network comprised of some 1,200 Big O Tires, Tire Kingdom, Merchants and NTB locations spanning 40 U.S. states. Big Os reach was broadened again in 2005, when TBC Corporation was acquired by Sumitomo Corporation of America, the largest wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sumitomo, one of the worlds leading traders of goods and services. As Big O Tires continues to thrive and adapt to an ever-changing marketplace, it remains rooted in its humble beginnings as a proud collective of independent dealers committed to putting its customers first.
Ascend empowers entrepreneurial CPAs to reach their goals with an innovative growth model that brings their firms into the new age. Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a modern platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a large CPA firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition, best-of-breed technology, a catalytic leadership system, shared back-office services, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount todays industry challenges and reach their full potential. Founded in January 2023, the company attained revenues sufficient to qualify it as a Top 100 U.S. accounting firm within six months of operation.
Tech Observer is a global Contract Research Organization (CRO) founded in 2005, with its headquarters in Paramus, New Jersey, and additional offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Singapore. The company specializes in clinical development support for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, extending its reach through local partners across the Asia-Pacific region. The company offers a comprehensive range of services that encompass the entire clinical research process. These include managing clinical trials, clinical data management, biostatistics and SAS programming, medical writing, post-marketing clinical studies, and staffing services. Tech Observer is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14155:2011 certified, demonstrating its commitment to quality and regulatory compliance. With a workforce of around 400 professionals, the company serves over 50 clients in more than 30 countries, focusing on various therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiology, and infectious diseases. Tech Observer also emphasizes innovation with solutions like its AI-driven clinical trial risk tool, MyRBQM, and promotes diversity and professional growth within its team.