Our Story

Michael Stone | CEO and President

Mike Stone was appointed President in March 2015. Previously, Mr. Stone served as Vice President of Operations from January 2013 until his appointment as President. Mr. Stone also served as Regional Vice President from 2007 until 2013. Mr. Stone has been with CertaPro® since March 2003, first as a General Manager in Development and later as a General Manager in Operations. Prior to that, Mr. Stone was a Residential Sales Associate for a CertaPro Painters® franchisee for four years.

Dawn Perry | Chief Brand Officer

Dawn Perry joined CertaPro in August 2022 as the Chief Brand Officer. Previously Ms. Perry held two roles over 12 years at Anywhere Real Estate as Senior Vice President Cross Brand Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer at ERA Real Estate. Ms. Perry also successfully ran her own Little Gym franchise for four years. She has held marketing management positions with Avis Budget Car Rental Group, Scholastic Book Club, and Time Inc., providing her with more than 30 years of marketing experience and a proven track record of driving lead generation through effective programs across multiple platforms and audiences.

Bill Palliser | Executive Vice President of Operations

Mr. Palliser joined CertaPro Painters® in September 2021 as Executive Vice President of Operations. Previously, Mr. Palliser spent 18 years with Sherwin Williams. Over his 18 years, he has held numerous positions in Store Management, Commercial and Residential Sales, as well as District Management. Mr. Palliser spent five years on their National Account team managing the CertaPro relationship across North America, developing strategies to strengthen the partnership between the two companies. Most recently, he was the National Accounts Sales Director, where he led a team offering innovative solutions for strategic clients in the residential, multi-family, commercial, hospitality, and healthcare market segments.

Adam Biedenbender | Vice President of Franchise Business Development

With nearly 20 years of experience in franchising, Adam has a successful track record in lead generation and identifying new business opportunities. As VP of Franchise Business Development, he will focus on driving growth in franchise expansion and resale opportunities. Prior to CertaPro Painters®, Biedenbender held leadership roles at Lift Brands, Primo Hoagies, Papa Murphy's International, and Smashburger. He is eager to leverage his experience and extensive franchisee network to expand CertaPro's presence across North America.

Yana Duman | Vice President of Brand Strategy

Yana has been in her current position, Vice President of Brand Strategy since February 2022. She has been with CertaPro Painters® for nearly a decade, holding positions as Director of Brand Experience & Insights, Director of Regional Marketing, Senior Regional Marketing Manager, and Regional Marketing Manager of Canada & Northeast US. A few highlights from Yana’s time with the organization include developing and launching a new mail ordering portal, developing an integrated NPS & Online Review survey system, facilitating co-op mass media decisions, driving a customer retention strategy re-design, writing content for direct mail and developing Marketing Automation campaigns.

Prior to joining CertaPro Painters®, Yana served as National Franchise Manager for Haines Direct, where she assessed business practices, identified key problem areas and implemented strategic improvements. Yana also has a background in business development and account management, working in this area for nearly 5 years with various franchise and non-franchised clients in outside organizations.

David Proulx | Vice President of Operations

In November 2021, David was appointed Vice President of Operations. He originally joined CertaPro in 2013 as a General Manager and went on to serve as Director of Startups, helping the owners build a solid and scalable foundation. He became a Director of Strategic Operations in 2018, then Regional Vice President in 2020. Prior to joining CertaPro Painters®, David was a Project Manager with Paul Davis, and before this, he ran a franchise from 2001-2003 with College Pro while attending university. He graduated in 2004 and joined College Pro full time.

David has been an Examiner/professional level coach since 2009 who maintains the integrity of the Skill Development Program through field certifications. In this role, he promotes learning within the organization and is a champion of lifelong learning. He considers the Skill Development Program to be a cornerstone to how we lead people and ourselves.

Christian Russo | Vice President of Performance Marketing

Christian Russo proudly joined CertaPro Painters in February 2023 as Vice President of Performance Marketing. Christian has spent his extensive career focused on the cutting edge of marketing innovations. Starting out at a leading digital agency during on the early days of social media, content marketing, and search, he set the strategies for globally recognized brands including Sony, Pitney Bowes, and Prudential.

He continued his career driving an eCommerce transformation followed by over a decade at leading luxury real estate franchise organization Sotheby’s International Realty and its parent company, Anywhere Real Estate. Some highlights included overseeing the brand’s global media strategy, leading analytics and measurements, developing and distributing consumer and B2B apps and services, and creating their video strategy which culminated in the brand’s YouTube Silver Award winning YouTube channel as the most viewed channel in the real estate industry.

Rich Volp | Vice President of Operational Excellence

Mr. Volp was appointed Vice President of Operational Excellence in January of 2024. He is responsible for developing and implementing new processes and procedures to improve corporate and franchise efficiencies. Mr. Volp joined CertaPro Painters in 2007 as a Development General Manager, a position held until becoming an Operations General Manager in January 2009. In 2012, Mr. Volp became Regional Director of the Southeast and MidAtlantic regions; Mr. Volp became Regional Vice President in 2014 for these regions. During January of 2018, Mr. Volp moved from the Operations Team to the Leadership & Development Team, assuming the role of Leadership Director. Late in 2019, Mr. Volp was appointed Vice President of Business Solutions, with responsibilities of leading the Information Technology team.

Dean Riviera | Chief Information Officer

Dean Riviera became the first Chief Information Officer (CIO) of CertaPro Painters, taking the lead on IT infrastructure and business applications. A recognized expert in digital technology growth, with a Corporate Vision Magazine award to his name, Dean brings extensive experience as an accomplished executive technology leader. His diverse expertise across various industry sectors and franchises have helped companies improve their agility through strategic architecture, data-driven management, and strong engineering practices. Before joining CertaPro Painters, Dean held executive positions at The Robert Allen Group, Neighborly, and Safelite AutoGlass.

David Barron | General Manager, Franchise Mergers & Acquisitions and Resale

David joined CertaPro Painters® as a Franchisee in Ottawa at the end of 2011. He built the business to $2.1 million over the course of 7 years, leading to a successful resale of the business in 2018. David now shares his direct experience and knowledge with our franchisees, helping them to build their succession plan, to then prepare business for sale and finally to support them through the selling process to close. He has been on the corporate team since March 2021.

Prior to CertaPro, David worked for many years in executive leadership with technology growth companies with an extensive background in marketing, finance, data management, sales and sales management. David received his Honors Business Administration degree from the Ivey Business at Western University with a focus on Marketing and Finance and a minor in Mathematics. He later attended Harvard Business School and received a Certificate in Negotiation Mastery. David serves as the Ottawa Alumni Chapter President for the Ivey Business School and enjoys family life, baseball, cycling and Nordic skiing.

Brennan Conway | General Manager of Franchise Recruiting

Brennan joined CertaPro Painters® as General Manager of Franchise Recruiting in June 2020 and has been in the franchising industry since 2008. Prior to CertaPro he was a Franchise Operations Manager with GYMGUYZ, a Franchise Consultant with Reliance Business Consultants, and a Market Development Manager with AAMCO Transmissions. Brennan is skilled in new business development and strategic planning. He spent the first part of his career helping new franchisees open their businesses on the Real Estate and Operations side, and later moved to franchise recruiting to help individuals realize their goal of owning their own business.

Gina Moughty

Gina has worked in franchise and business development for more than 20 years. She joined CertaPro Painters® in February 2024 as General Manager of Franchise Recruiting. Prior to this, she served as Director of Franchise Development for Sandbox VR for 4 years. Leading up to that, she spent most of her franchise development career as Senior Director of Franchise Development for Rita's Italian Ice Franchise Company. Gina has extensive industry knowledge and experience in attracting and onboarding new franchisees.

Gina resides in Rockland County, NY and received her Bachelors in Science from State University of New York at Oswego.

Kim Haidacher | Marketing Manager

Kim boasts a wealth of experience in both marketing and franchising, stemming from her background in Franchise Sales at Rita's Italian Ice and her tenure as a former franchise owner of The Little Gym (TLG). Before delving into franchising, Kim spent over 15 years in the corporate sector, honing her marketing expertise at esteemed companies such as Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, W&H Systems, and Opinion Research Corporation. Kim is a seasoned marketing professional with a profound understanding of franchising dynamics. She received her Bachelors of Science from State University of New York at Cortland, and her MBA from Long Island University.