Empower Brands named longtime franchise executive Joel Worthington president of Koala Insulation, tapping his Neighborly and DreamMaker experience to scale the brand.
Empower Brands has named Joel Worthington president of Koala Insulation, tapping a franchise executive with more than two decades of leadership experience at DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen and Neighborly. Worthington also owned a Sharkey's Cuts for Kids franchise before founding his own leadership consulting firm. He takes the role at a brand Empower describes as having significant room to expand its franchise system.
Worthington said his experience on both sides of the franchise relationship shapes how he plans to lead, with a focus on stronger systems, training, marketing and lead generation for existing owners. He described insulation as the product but franchisee profitability as the real job, pointing to dispatching, recruiting and financial management as equally critical to a location's success.
Koala Insulation operates under the Empower Brands umbrella alongside other home services concepts, giving Worthington access to executives who have worked through similar growth challenges at sister brands. CEO Scott Zide said Worthington's track record growing nationally recognized brands made him the right fit to guide Koala into its next phase.
Insulation remains a smaller category within home services franchising, but multi-brand platforms like Empower are increasingly recruiting leaders with cross-brand experience rather than promoting from within a single concept. For franchisees evaluating insulation or adjacent home services opportunities, the appointment signals Koala is prioritizing operational discipline as it scales. Worthington said the fundamentals that drive a profitable location, marketing, sales, customer service and leadership, translate across the broader home services category, not just insulation specifically.
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