With more than 30 years in franchising, Mary Kennedy Thompson has led businesses and franchises of all sizes. She has extensive experience in global expansion, high growth organizations, integrations, and leadership.

Prior to starting at BNI^® and Corporate Connections^® in 2024, Mary served as Chief Operating Officer at Neighborly^®, the world’s largest home services company, where she worked since 2006.

Mary’s tenure at Neighborly included roles as Executive Vice President and President of Mr. Rooter^®, their largest brand.

Mary’s career began as a multi-unit franchise owner at Cookies by Design, where she excelled in market penetration and sales, eventually becoming the brand’s President at the corporate headquarters after successfully selling her locations. While a multi-unit franchisee, she joined BNI as a Member in 1994.

Mary served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Logistics Officer. She has received numerous accolades, including the IFA’s William Rosenberg Foundation Leadership Award, The Bonny Levine Award, and the Crystal Compass award. Mary is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) and currently serves as a Board Member and Chair Elect of the IFA.

Mary’s passion for helping business owners aligns with CorporateConnections mission to support its Members and franchisees, marking her appointment as CEO as a transformational opportunity for CorporateConnections.

Robert Gervais is one of the founders of CorporateConnections® and has served as Global President since January 2017. Robert is passionate about the power of connecting leaders across the globe and making a difference in people’s organizations, communities and lives. Prior to CorporateConnections, Robert founded and served as President & CEO of Zerofail, a technology company that he grew from start-up to multinational prior to selling in 2015.

Robert received his MBA from the John Molson School of Business, a Certificate in Franchise Management from Georgetown University, and a BFA from the Concordia University. He is also a Certified Franchise Executive™. Robert taught business strategy and entrepreneurship at a leading Canadian university.

A strong proponent of giving back to the community, Robert has served on several boards, including Equitas, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Youth Employment Services, Les Amis de la Montagne, Notman House (Technology Incubator), and Geordie Theatre. Robert is a frequent guest speaker on topics of Networking and Entrepreneurship.

Stephen Schwartz is the Chief Technology Officer for CorporateConnections®. He has been working in the IT field for over 25 Years. Steve started out installing Point of Sales systems in New York City, where he eventually had his own business for five years. After leaving NYC, Steve move to Atlanta, Georgia, to pursue a career in software development. In 1999, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky, to work at Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, where he worked in various IT roles over 13 years. This led him to a position as CIO of Long John Silver’s, a restaurant chain in the US with 1,300 retail outlets. Steve moved to Charlotte in 2014 to be Senior Vice President of Product Development for a software company and then joined the CorporateConnections^® team soon after.

Sri Rathan Rathi is a seasoned global executive with over 25 years of experience in business development, relationship marketing, and international expansion. As Vice President of Product and Market Growth for CorporateConnections®, he plays a pivotal role in driving strategic growth across the globe. Since joining the organization in 2018, Sri has led the development of CorporateConnections® in 15+ new countries and supported the growth of the community across the globe in the last three years.

A certified Network Trainer from ASENTIV (USA) and a graduate of Sheffield University (UK), Sri has coached more than 250 entrepreneurs across 20 countries, leveraging relationship marketing to quadruple his own company’s turnover in just six years. His belief in the power of strong relationships as a differentiator in business continues to shape his leadership approach. Sri recently renewed the Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) designation from the International Franchise Association, further underscoring his commitment to excellence in global franchising and leadership.

Jade Crittenden is the Global Director of Operations for CorporateConnections®. He holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and began his career in international development, helping U.S. manufacturing companies expand into global markets. He then spent 12 years as an entrepreneur, founding and leading several businesses as President and CEO.

Jade later brought his operational and financial leadership to the nonprofit sector, serving the March of Dimes as Director of Operations and Regional Controller. Before joining CorporateConnections, he held operational leadership roles in both the residential/commercial inspection industry and IT data consulting.

Outside of work, Jade and his wife enjoy hiking with their dog in the Blue Ridge Mountains, traveling, running, and reading great books.

Heather Travaglini is the Director of Marketing and Communications for CorporateConnections®. A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, she has worked across a variety of industries bringing words to life and transforming ideas into reality. Heather joined CorporateConnections from Major, Lindsey & Africa, the world’s leading legal executive search firm, where she spent 9.5 years. Most recently, she served at Senior Marketing Manager, managing—and executing—content and social media strategy. Before that, she was Managing Editor at Laureate Education, leading the writing and editing team in the development of all marketing materials for Walden University. Heather began her career as an editor at Richey International.

Ever the creative, Heather is also a talented photographer who runs her own photography business. She loves learning about her clients and their lives and then being able to visually capture their personality through her lens.

Heather lives outside of Annapolis, Maryland, with her two daughters. She enjoys scrapbooking and all types of arts and crafts, traveling, entertaining, and spending time with her friends and family as often as possible.

Kelly Irons is the founder and CEO of developUs Worldwide, a global training and development firm. After nearly two decades in leadership roles in Corporate America, she made the entry into entrepreneurship. Outside the office, Kelly’s favorite activities include making great connections between people, kayaking, reading, and traveling. She is the author of GET REAL: Turning RE-lationships into REAL-ationships for Increased Connection and Results, released in early 2021.

Kelly has a master’s degree in organizational development and adult education, an Executive MBA Certificate in Talent Management, and is an ICF Certified Coach. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her two amazing children, and considers parenting her best and favorite leadership job of all time.

Anish Patel is an entrepreneur and works as the Managing Director at Aims Oxygen Pvt Ltd, AOPL, a company with 60+ years of experience in manufacturing and selling industrial and medical gases. An MBA by qualification, he spearheads the company with his innovation-driven management skills.

As the Founder of Mind Maestro, Anish curates comprehensive and customized training modules to empower people both individually and professionally. He guides people to develop their vision, purpose, values, strategies, and leadership skills through his expertise in Executive and Leadership Coaching. His proficiency lies in identifying strengths and redirecting energies to a more productive space, in turn, resulting in high performance and enhanced outputs. He is a certified ActionCOACH and empowers leaders and entrepreneurs to unleash their fullest potential, achieve a state of heightened awareness, and create a balance across all life spheres.

Anish has undertaken multiple roles while at CorporateConnections, serving as a Launch Chapter Director and Member as well as leading the Forum program for the Global Support Team. Along with that, he has also been associated with Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) for over 10 years. He has a rich experience in working with Forums globally and has been successful in enhancing their Forum experiences. He is also actively involved in organizations like The Confederation of Indian Industry’s Young Indians and All India Industrial Gases Manufacturers Association.

Throughout his 23 years of professional experience, Anish has firmly believed that passion and sense of purpose fuels successful strategies and creates successful organizations. Anish has been sharing his wide range of life experiences and learnings in his journey through training, coaching, and facilitation. He also believes in philanthropy and does so through Round Table, United Way, and the socio-spiritual organization BAPS.

Anish is on his journey and mission of #Transforming1Mjourneys.