About Us
leadership
Leadership Team
Paul Keiser
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Paul’s entrepreneurial approach and experience blends business management skills with practical, feet-on-the-street consultative marketing and sales experience. Paul is known for his ability to assess opportunity quickly, size up complex situations and move clients to action.
Most recently Paul has taken on introducing Ziik, an EU and Nordic market leader in the Intranet software market into the US market. He excels in bringing new concepts to market.
Prior to co-founding Franchise Pipeline Solutions, he served 13 years as the managing partner of Sales Conversion Group, primarily focused on helping clients use data for strategic competitive advantage.
Paul holds Bachelor of Arts degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with majors in journalism and political science.
jessica Hinnen
Vice President Strategic communications
Jessica is a growth strategist and industry leader with more than a decade of experience guiding executives, investors, and emerging franchisors through strategic expansion and business ownership. She has worked alongside hundreds of brands, aligning growth strategy with the right candidates, systems and long-term vision.
Today, Jessica leverages her franchising expertise to support growing brands navigating the operational and communication challenges that come with scale. Together with Ziik’s international team, she is supporting U.S. franchise brands in implementing modern, mobile-first communication solutions, strengthening alignment, improving information flow and driving stronger employee engagement across growing multi-location distributed organizations.
Dugan Aylen
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer
Dug has specialized in everything to do with franchisee recruitment for the last 25 years and has a passion for helping franchise companies find the right profile of franchise owner, as well as ensuring that potential franchisees go through the right process to ensure they also come to the right decision.
Away from franchising, Zimbabwean Dug lives with his wife and two children, Pippin and Quinn, in North Norfolk, England and loves triathlon, sailing, barefoot trail running, mountain biking and road cycling.
Derek Knaggs
Chief Technical Officer
Derek is the main IT and systems guy, but he does not fit the typical stereotype…He is extremely client-friendly, an excellent problem solver and great team player!
Whether it’s finding solutions for system integrations, setting up telephone systems, playing with hardware or software, Derek is your man!
Derek is sport mad and plays Ultimate Frisbee in the summer months since he hates the cold. His passion for golf leads to many dreams about little white balls. Derek is loyal and hates letting people down, so usually doesn’t, unless of course there is live sport on TV.
Katie Snelling
Chief Marketing Officer
Katie is the creative one! – a graphic and web designer who lives with her husband and two young children by the sea in North Norfolk, UK. Anything we get involved in that requires something looking professional, Katie will put it together…from websites and email design to social media portfolios, she does it all and more!
Katie brings a creative perspective to the business that is absolutely essential.
Ziik puts improved communication and increased engagement on the menu at McDonald’s
When McDonald’s Finland needed to connect 4,500 restaurant employees more effectively, outdated top-down emails and social media workarounds weren’t cutting it.
After a successful pilot, Ziik was rolled out nationwide — replacing noticeboards and WhatsApp groups with a secure, app-based platform that employees check daily. The result? Clearer communication, stronger community feeling, and even a little friendly competition driven by shared customer feedback.
With improved engagement and easier access to information, managers and crew alike say Ziik has made work simpler — and more professional.
One Hub for a Growing Franchise Network
As Access4Lofts expanded to 70 territories across the UK, keeping processes, training videos and franchise updates in one place became a growing challenge. Emails were piling up, information was scattered, and franchisees needed instant access — without relying on laptops.
With Ziik, everything moved into one branded, app-based hub. Now instructional videos, FAQs, announcements and even “Motivational Mondays” and “Top Tip Tuesdays” live in one easy-to-access space — right on their phones.
The result? Streamlined communication, fewer emails, and a more connected, positive franchise community.
Why Ziik Was the First Call for This McDonald’s Franchisee
Learn why one franchise owner built Ziik into his operations from day one, and how it helps him create clarity, consistency, and culture across two McDonald’s restaurants and a young, fast-moving team.
How Sibylla Boosted Engagement Across 120 Restaurants with Ziik
Sibylla had an intranet for years, but almost no one used it. With 120 franchise restaurants and 600 employees, its outdated WordPress system became unmanageable, generating just 400 monthly logins—mostly from HQ—making consistency and shared knowledge hard to sustain.
Ziik inspires R-kioski in Finland to reconsider their internal communications
In January 2021, R-kioski rolled out Ziik to employees across 460 stores. The Finnish convenience chain’s launch followed a thorough implementation and marked a clear shift away from business as usual in internal communications.