Hand and Stone was recently featured in The Record!

Bring massage to the masses is CEO's goal

Sunday, June 13, 2010

BY JOAN VERDON
The Record
STAFF WRITER

Todd Leff’s original plan after he stepped down as CEO of the AAMCO transmission and auto repair franchise chain was to retire and play a lot of golf. "That lasted about three months," he says. Instead of spending his time relaxing on the links, he decided to go back to work helping to build a new chain that wants to market mass relaxation.

Massage for the masses is the mantra at Hand & Stone, a chain of massage and facial spas that offers 50-minute massages for $49.95 to its members.

The company, based in Toms River, plans to move its headquarters to Hamilton this summer. It has 31 spas in nine states and Canada, and expects to open 20 to 25 new locations this year, with North Jersey being a major target for expansion.

The company was founded by a physical therapist, John Marco, in 2005, who is the company’s chief operating officer.

Leff, 51, signed on as an investor last year and is overseeing the company’s marketing, franchise development, real estate and finance functions as president and CEO. Career changes are nothing new for Leff. He was a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia for five years in the 1980s, before joining Cottman Transmission as corporate counsel. He became CEO of Cottman, and when the two transmission chains merged, he became CEO of AAMCO. He spoke with The Record at Hand & Stone’s newest New Jersey location, in Hamilton. (Interview condensed for space.) (Read More).

Todd Leff, President and Chief Executive, Hand and Stone

With over 20 years of franchise leadership experience, each brand Todd Leff has worked with has experienced explosive national growth and increased profitability. Currently, Leff is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hand and Stone, a 30-plus unit massage and facial spa franchise, based in Hamilton, New Jersey, with a mission of bringing massage and massage services to the masses. At Hand and Stone, Leff is responsible for franchise, marketing and operational developments. Over the next five years, Leff plans to take Hand and Stone from 30 spas to more than 250 across the nation in addition to increasing the variety of spa services offered at Hand and Stone.

Prior to Leff investing in and joining Hand and Stone in July of 2009, Leff served as CEO of Philadelphia-based Cottman Transmission, leading its growth from a small regional company to a 400 unit national transmission repair and complete car care chain. In 2006, Leff successfully engineered the merger of Cottman Transmission and AAMCO Transmissions (owned by American Driveline Systems, Inc.). At that time, Leff became the president and CEO of American Driveline Systems, Inc., as well as its subsidiaries AAMCO Transmissions and Cottman Transmission, creating the world’s largest chain of transmission specialists and one of the leaders in complete car care services. Under Leff’s leadership, American Driveline Systems, Inc. grew to 1,100 locations and achieved system wide sales of $600 million in 2008 employing over 6,000 team members nationwide.

In addition to his extensive franchise career, Leff was a lead trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, from 1985-1990. Leff is a cum laude graduate of Temple University School of Law, where he served as an Editor of the Temple Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree with distinction from Villanova University.
Leff’s proven leadership has propelled him to the front of the industry as an expert in franchising and business. He is a frequent author, lecturer and panelist at franchise law and business conferences, including serving as the plenary session speaker at the 41st Annual International Franchise Association (IFA) Symposium. Leff also serves on the International Franchise Association’s Research Committee where he plays a key role in formulating research strategy and assisting in projects for the IFA.

Leff resides with his wife, Cindy, in Warrington, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. They have four children, Jillian, Hallie, Kylie and Alex.

For more information on Todd Leff and Hand and Stone, visit www.handandstone.com.

Hand and Stone was recently featured in the Philadelphia Business Journal!

Ex-AAMCO exec shifts gears
Leff waxes upbeat over Hand & Stone spas

Philadelphia Business Journal - by Peter Van Allen Staff Writer

A former top executive at AAMCO Transmissions is getting into a business with a personal touch.

Todd Leff, who led the merger of the Cottman Transmission and AAMCO chains, is now leading the expansion of Hand & Stone, a chain of massage-and-facial spas.

Hand & Stone has four locations in the Philadelphia market and has plans for eight more by year’s end. Overall, it has 30 locations in nine states and Canada — and is growing through both corporate-owned stores and through franchisees.

While different industries, Leff said the retail transmission business and the spa business are not that different. (Read More)