Richard S. Stanbridge

Richard Stanbridge talent exceeds 40 years of experience in marketing, financial services and manufacturing.  His experience includes marketing and sales programs for fortune 500 companies as well as small technology product manufacturing across international borders, all areas of corporate operations with particular strengths in areas such as banking relationships, financial reporting systems, financial strategy including debtor in possession financing.  In recent years, Mr. Stanbridge has worked with many franchise opportunities and understands the many facets of franchising startups.

Past President and one of the co‑founders of Fidelity Communications, combines his business education from the University of Michigan and Georgetown University with over forty years of experience in many areas of the telecommunications industry.  As an early marketing employee of MCI, he gained valuable experience in creating new business opportunities and implementing new products and services to an existing group of nationwide clients.  His exposure to the international marketplace as Vice President of the satellite division for Ford Aerospace, Starnet Communications, led to contacts in the areas of central office equipment and computer manufacturing.  Appointed to Ford Motor Company marketing roundtable as the Ford Aerospace executive representative offered extensive experience in the future direction of the company.  Interfacing with national and independent manufacturers of peripheral computer and telecommunications equipment also added to his expertise.  He then joined CMI Corporation where his expertise was used in their pioneering concept of combining computer and telephone systems.  Using the existing lease base of CMI computer clients, he was able to increase revenues while forming a partnership with AT&T to supplement CMI’s efforts with unique leasing arrangements and refurbished equipment.  Integrating the leasing of computer and telephone systems in the international marketplace became his responsibility with Canada Lease of America.  This successful Canadian company created a North American presence for telephone, computer and leasing products before the illness and retirement of its founder.  The Michigan office re‑organized as First Trust Communications, where Mr. Stanbridge directed the expansion of products to include long distance reselling.  As the primary contact for lease funding and banking relationships, he gained valuable contacts in the financial community, both in the United States and Canada.  The financial climate in Canada became prohibitive for American investments and First Trust was downsized to become a maintenance office for existing clients with a new venture into client owned pay telephones.  Realizing the opportunities which still existed, Mr. Stanbridge founded Fidelity Communications.

            Fidelity was formed to take advantage of a niche market created by the de-regulation of the telephone industry in the early 1980s.  Fidelity manufactures, sells, installs and services telecommunications and related equipment throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and parts of Europe.  The company has gained a solid reputation for having some of the highest performing, most reliable and most satisfactory products in the telecommunications industry.  The Company was named one of the top one hundred telecommunications companies (specifically, number thirty-three) by Teleconnect Magazine for the year 2002.

            The Company  became one of the predominant telecommunications providers to the restaurant industry in the United States.  The Pizza Operators Association and Pizza Marketplace (an industry publication) have stated that Fidelity is the telecommunications service leader in the pizza industry, having worked with over 33,000 establishments.  Sold in 2016, it is still one of management’s objectives is to grow the Company by developing some of the most advanced technological systems available while maintaining one of the highest rated service levels in the telecommunications industry. In each and every year Fidelity has increased revenue while maintaining profitability.

In 2017 Mr. Stanbridge joined Marco's Franchising, LLc (Marco's Pizza) as Chief Information Officer and Vice President. He later was promoted to Executive Vice President and CIO.  Currently, (2024) he holds the honorary position of CIO Emeritus. He also is Executive Director of Marcos Technology Services, LLC (MTS),  which developed a ground up Order Management System for all 1200+ stores.

In addition to his executive career, Mr. Stanbridge serves on several charitable boards including the Boy Scouts of America.   He has published many articles about technologies and the operations of small to medium size business.  He also serves as Managing Director of The Stanbridge Group, a high level business consulting think tank.