Meet the Team

Stephen Rotay

Franchise Consultant & President of Rotay Enterprises

As the first person in his family to go to college, Stephen has always been someone who is not afraid to break new ground and strive for a better life, all traits which have led him to become the owner of a whole range of successful business interests to this day. However, it was his time in the US Marine Corp that Stephen sees as one of the most important and influential in his life.

Graduating with honours from boot camp, and receiving a number of awards and recognitions as he rose through the enlisted ranks, he sees this period of his life as the time which taught him many of the core skills and life lessons which have made him so successful today. Perhaps, most of all, it taught him the value of working with others to achieve the same goals.

His first big job after leaving service was as a Distribution Sales Manager for Honeywell where he won a number of awards for exceeding sales quotas, but it wasn’t long before he decided to move onto his own projects. His experience in the corporate world had been a very valuable one, but Stephen had a growing desire to be his own boss and be part of something where he could feel his decisions and skills truly mattered.

His first solo business venture was as a manufacturers rep selling heating and air conditioning products, handling contracts and sales worth over $3million. However, Stephen still felt he wanted more control over his life so, in 2000, he invested in his first franchise, Paul Davis, an insurance restoration business. After expanding to multiple territories, he eventually sold his business for a substantial profit.

However, during that time, he learnt a great deal about the workings of franchising and was hired by a large, private equity firm recruiting, training and mentoring franchisees across a wide range of different sectors. It wasn’t long before he became their go-to “fixit” guy, specialising in turning around troubled or under-performing franchises.

Stephen continues to have a number of lucrative business interests of his own, but now considers his main mission to be championing the power of franchising to transform lives for the better. Now a proud grandfather, the only thing he puts ahead of his work is helping his family enjoy the life they deserve.

Tracie Irwin

Franchise Consultant

With a diverse background spanning entrepreneurship, project management, and advocacy, there’s very little the multi-talented Tracie can’t turn into a great success story, and we’re very lucky to have her on our team. As an Army veteran of the Gulf War, Tracie has now successfully channelled all her incredible skills and experience into building her own business and helping others to do the same.

After leaving military service, she very soon showed her entrepreneurial flair by launching and developing a Family Entertainment Center, which she successfully sold on in order to pursue her next project. Next in her career journey came working in hotel renovations and project management, where Tracie honed her skills in design and operations. When Covid-19 hit the hospitality industry, she made a shift into sales, which is where she first met Stephen Rotay and they began to work together.

Alongside now advising others on how to use franchising to accelerate their careers as business owners, Tracie also runs Wild Heart Originals, a custom wood-working business which sells its wares in several stores across her home state of Pennsylvania.

The only things she loves more than growing businesses are her two sons, Chase, a Marine, and Corey, an accomplished professional in the automotive industry and a real estate entrepreneur, and her beloved bulldog Romeo who is her constant companion.

Tracie is also president of the Erie chapter of A.B.A.T.E., a charity founded by local motorcyclists who raise money to help the rights of motorcyclists and local veterans, as well as a number of great local causes.

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