Speak Up: Interview with Kim Gubera, CEO of PIRTEK USA

I recently went one on one with Kim Gubera. Kim is the President and CEO of PIRTEK USA.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Kim: Adam, thanks for inviting me to participate. How did I get here? Well, I took the long way. I went to college while I worked full time for nine years earning my B.S. in Accounting, an MBA, and my CPA designation. I started in franchising with U.S. Lawns back in 2000 and was with them for sixteen years, starting as a Staff Accountant and working my way up to Director of Finance. The whole foundation of my knowledge of franchising was established there. When I came to PIRTEK USA in 2016, I was able to participate in the business in a broader scope and not just in accounting. Some might consider my move from Director of Finance at U.S. Lawns to Corporate Controller at PIRTEK USA a setback but obviously for me, it has turned out to be the greatest strategic move I have ever made. My growth has primarily been a result of always giving 100% to whatever I am focused on, good brands, and some instrumental mentors along the way. 

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?

Kim: While that is a very big question, I’ll give you one essential component for growing a business like PIRTEK USA that is a franchise. In franchising, you must stay close to your franchisees in order to see the business grow. This might be counterintuitive to what you would think. Franchisors might believe they only have to grow in number of units to be successful, but we take a two-pronged approach: growing the individual franchise owner’s businesses and adding more franchise units. You stay close to the franchisees by listening and interacting. You must be open to not only giving feedback but to receiving feedback. We strive to have close relationships with all our owners, and we build that relationship through mutual trust and mutual respect. 

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Kim: I believe very strongly in the concept of servant leadership. I am concerned and care about every aspect of the business, however, my primary focus and responsibility is to take care of the employees, the franchise owners, and the employees of the franchise owners to the greatest extent that I am able. In addition, I feel it is my responsibility to mentor and develop all those who report to me directly. This approach ensures that I help them achieve everything they are capable of and that they want to achieve.

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Kim: Leaders and aspiring leaders can enhance their skills by staying relevant, reading and expanding their knowledge, and having mentors. You don’t have to have just one mentor – you can have multiple. I currently have three. I don’t talk to them every day, but they are there when I need them, and they are all people who have no issue telling me I need to think differently or search for better answers. Plus, mentors change over time based on where you are in life and your career. I would not be where I am today without multiple individuals who have helped me along the way. I am forever grateful to all of them for their input. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Kim: First, be people-centric. It sounds super cool and trendy, but I will tell you it is harder than it sounds. I do feel, though, that it yields the best outcome over time.

Next, know your numbers. You can’t ignore cash flow and you can’t ignore performance KPIs in any business or organization and be successful. Maybe you can for a short run, but it is not sustainable.

Finally, stay true to your core values and culture once you have good ones in place. As you grow, this becomes harder and the market may put constraints on you but if you start deviating from that, you could lose the very source of your success. You do have to be adaptive but ultimately standing firm on those core values. This applies to you personally and to the organization. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Kim: Make sure you communicate your vision and direction to them and once they have that, then get out of their way. This will probably take some time - at least it did for us You must work to foster collaboration among your team and then collaboration can occur without your involvement. At the same time all of this is happening, be available to them, let them know you care, and maintain a culture of high standards. 

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing and branding?

Kim: Providing excellent customer service is the best advice I can give relating to sales.  We pride ourselves on offering a first-class customer experience and our customers continue to come back to us not because they must, but because they want to.  When it comes to marketing and branding, I feel that clearly and consistently communicating our value propositions and brand promise is essential.  We strive to speak with one consistent voice to maintain and grow our brand. Staying current in strategies and tools is what keeps us relevant. When our franchisees’ keep our promise of our tagline, which is, “WE’LL KEEP YOU OPERATING®” we find it strengthens our branding amongst our customers.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Kim: Speak up. Until about six years ago, I would tend to keep many of my opinions or ideas to myself. What I found out is that I do have really good ideas and opinions and they needed to be shared with my leaders and peers. I also learned that strong leaders want that. I know that I shortchanged myself along the way but not letting my managers know what I had to offer. Once I started speaking up, my career took a whole new trajectory. 

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Kim: Perseverance is key. It took me a lot of hard work and time to get to where I am now, but I wouldn’t change a thing. From pursuing my college degree while raising my daughter to navigating an essential business during a pandemic, it was all in the pursuit of my dream of being successful in the business world. 


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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