Excellence in action — the Primrose team.
Jo Kirchner
President and CEO
Jo Kirchner oversees strategic direction for the company, managing its financial vision and brand leadership strategy while guiding new business development to drive growth and profitability. Her lifelong mission is to provide a nurturing environment and a quality foundation to help children become confident adults who love who they are and what they do. She is driven to meet and exceed parent demand for high-quality educational child care by delivering an experience that is both trusted by parents and unparalleled. Under her direction, Primrose has increased its focus on meeting individual needs of children while providing a creative and rich learning experience for its students.
Darin Harris
Chief Operating Officer
Darin Harris' role is to assist the company in maintaining high-quality Primrose delivery and brand consistency. As COO, Darin has oversight over Operations, Franchising & Compliance, Franchise Finance, Real Estate & Development, as well as Franchise Recruitment, Marketing, and Public Relations. Before joining Primrose Schools, Darin served as senior vice president for Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. (ARG), where he oversaw franchise development and recruiting, as well as unit growth and development.
Mary Zurn
Vice President of Early Childhood Education and Professional Development
Dr. Mary Zurn's passion is the early education of young children. Prior to joining Primrose, she worked actively in a variety of educational arenas as an influential instructor, administrator, and designer of innovative, interactive multimedia applications and teaching materials. She has done research and conducted workshops in the fields of early reading, emergent writing development, children's literature, and the effective and appropriate uses of technology in learning. She is a native of Atlanta and earned her Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University. A firm believer in the Primrose Balanced Learning® curriculum, Mary's goal is to highlight the role of the child as an active learner. She places special emphasis on the professional development of Primrose teachers. And she is the author of a parenting blog, DrZandMe.com.
Bob Benowitz
Executive Vice President of Operations
Robert A. (Bob) Benowitz is a highly-regarded child care professional who joined Primrose Schools in 1996. He has over 33 years of experience in the child care service industry. He began his career as a center director and has worked for large national child care organizations before joining Primrose Schools. He and his Operations Team are responsible for pre-opening training, school openings, quality assurance, and ongoing franchise owner support and relationships in order to maximize the enrollment potential of each school.
Derek Fuller
Vice President
Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Derek Fuller brings strong financial, business analysis and technology expertise to the corporate staff. He has served as Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Finance, and Secretary of Primrose School Franchising Company since July 2001. Derek and his accounting team assist franchise owners with training on the Primrose Schools' child care management software, office processes, and monthly financial reporting. He also oversees the information technology team that administers the Primrose intranet communications for the franchise system and works with the development and testing of new technologies.
Paul Thaxton
Vice President
Brand Management
Paul Thaxton’s career encompasses advertising agency and client-side brand and marketing leadership for a number of nationally recognized franchise-based organizations, including Long John Silvers, Wendy's, Domino's Pizza, and Chick-fil-A, Inc. He now leads his Primrose team in managing national, regional, and local brand marketing strategies and provides franchise owners with the research and marketing tools necessary to be The Leader in Educational Child Care® in all of the Primrose markets and communities.
Bill Pierquet
Vice President
Real Estate
Bill Pierquet is responsible for providing strategic direction for the growth of the Primrose brand, as well as managing the execution of the development process. He leads a team of individuals focused on achieving the development plans leading to sustained growth of the company. Prior to joining Primrose, Bill served for seven years as Sr. VP of Development with Sonic in Oklahoma City, VP of Development with Friendly's Ice Cream, Chief Development Officer for P&L Food Services (an operator of Boston Market and Einstein's Bagels restaurants), and VP of Development at Del Taco. He also held a variety of development positions in construction and real estate with Taco Bell.
Cory Durden
Director, Franchise Development
Cory Durden has served as the Director of Franchise Development since May 2007. Prior to joining Primrose Schools, he was employed by Brinker International in Dallas as its Domestic Franchise Development Director for the Chili’s Grill & Bar concept. Cory also served as a Franchise Development Director for AFC Enterprises in Chicago.
Kim Musso
Director of Franchise Recruitment
Kim Musso has been with Primrose Schools for 13 years and has been a guiding force in growing the franchise from 40 Schools to over 200. Kim's role is to be the first point of contact for those interested in becoming a Primrose Schools franchise owner. Kim will work with you to help you determine if Primrose Schools is a good fit for you.
John Teat
Managing Director of Franchise Finance
John joins Primrose Schools to support the continued growth of the franchise system through sourcing and maintaining reliable lending solutions for new and existing franchise owners. No stranger to Primrose Schools, Teat managed the Primrose Schools portfolio as a Sr. Regional Account Manager at CIT, SBL for the past 17 years. In that role, he assisted with the financing for more than 90 percent of Primrose Schools.
In addition to providing access to capital through the development of relationships with regional banks in growth markets, Teat has expedited the loan approval process for franchise owners through his connections with CIT and other lenders.
Tim Linderman
Director, Franchise Development
Tim Linderman has served as our Director, Franchise Development since February 2011. From April 2006 to February 2011, Mr. Linderman served as Director of Franchise Development for Arby’s Restaurant Group in Atlanta, Georgia.
