Grow Market Lead
Executive
profile:
Youthful Enthusiast!
33-year-old presides over Two Men and a Truck
By Kerry Pipes
T
his past August marked a
milestone for Randy Shacka and for Two Men and a
Truck: Shacka not only became the first non-family president of
the Michigan-based franchisor, he also
did it at the only company he’s ever
worked for—and at just 33.
“I started out in 2001 as an intern
in the marketing department while
attending Michigan State University.
I was an engineering student with no
background in moving or franchising,”
he says. Then he “fell in love” with the
Name: Randy Shacka
Title: President
Company: Two Men and a Truck
Age: 33
Family: Wife Becky, son Will
Years in franchising: 11
Years in current position: 2 months
company, the brand, and the founding
family members, especially the brand’s
attention to detail and its unwavering
customer service model.
A year later he moved to Florida to
open a Two Men and a Truck franchise
in Seminole County. “I was two classes
short of obtaining a degree in engineering sciences at the time and I came from
a conservative home, so my parents
weren’t particularly thrilled with my
decision,” he says today. He promised
his parents he would finish his degree,
and did so in 2004.
Shacka succeeded in Florida but
longed to return to family and friends
in Michigan. An opportunity opened up
in the corporate office, and he jumped
at the chance to become a franchise
development specialist. From there, he
flourished, advancing to vice president
of operations, COO, and now president.
The company has been on a roll the
past couple of years, growing to 222
locations in 34 states—with 33 straight
months of record growth and two thirds
of its U.S. locations up by double digits
in 2011. During this time Shacka has
been front and center, leading a couple
of technology initiatives, including a
system-wide move to the cloud and a
reinvention of their website and lead
generation systems.
“One goal is to continue to invest and
grow the brand while strengthening the
bottom line of our franchise owners,”
he says. Another goal is to grow their
franchise network by 40 new locations
over the next 18 months. “We have a very
strong management team and we’re on
track to hit the quarter-billion revenue
mark by the end of the year. I couldn’t
be more excited about the direction of
the company.”
LEADERSHIP
What is your role as president? Well,
I’m only 48 days into this, but my job is
to help execute the vision of this family business. I have been overseeing the
implementation of new technology tools
here that will enable us to improve and
centralize our operating systems. It’s
also my job to build the brand and leverage growth.
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