Splash Car Wash elevates 25-year veteran Jason Frank to COO
Frank, who joined the Connecticut chain as an assistant manager in 2001, now oversees operational strategy as the company grows to 83 locations.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
Splash Car Wash has named Jason Frank its new chief operating officer, promoting a leader who has spent a quarter century climbing through the company's ranks. According to reporting from Professional Carwashing & Detailing, Frank started with Splash in February 2001 as an assistant manager at the chain's Norwalk, Connecticut, location, when the operator ran just seven sites.
The company framed the move as recognition of Frank's operational expertise and his role in Splash's expansion. He now helps lead a business that has grown to 83 locations.
A promote-from-within career path
Frank's rise illustrates a long internal track. Within six months of joining, he became a site manager, and early on he earned the company's "Best of Splash" recognition. He was promoted to district manager in 2004, overseeing five locations, then moved through regional manager, regional director in 2020 and senior vice president of operations in 2025.
His responsibilities over the years have spanned multisite operations, equipment maintenance, site selection, new location development, facility design and layout, and mergers and acquisitions. The source notes Frank has 34 years of car wash industry experience in total, having started in the business at age 15.
Scope of the new role
As COO, Frank will oversee operational strategy and execution. Splash identified his focus areas as operational excellence, team development, consistent customer experiences, and support for the company's expanding footprint.
CEO Dan Petrelle said Frank "understands our business from the ground up," pointing to more than 25 years of growth alongside the company. Frank reflected on the scale of that change, noting the chain had seven locations when he started and now operates 83. The company positioned the promotion as evidence of its commitment to developing leaders internally rather than hiring from outside.
Why it matters for operators
Frank's trajectory is a case study in building a leadership bench from within, something many multisite operators struggle to do as they scale. Promoting a longtime operator who has worked nearly every level, from assistant manager to regional director, gives a growing chain institutional knowledge that is hard to replicate through outside hires. For operators, the lesson is that a visible internal path can both retain strong managers and produce executives who understand site-level realities.
The breadth of Frank's experience also signals what a modern car wash COO job now requires. His background covers not just daily operations but site selection, new development, facility design, and mergers and acquisitions. As express chains expand through both new builds and acquisitions, operators should expect their senior operations leaders to be fluent in real estate and deal work, not only in running the tunnel and managing labor.
Finally, the timing matters. With Splash at 83 sites and emphasizing consistent customer experiences across locations, the appointment underscores how chains are prioritizing operational standardization as they grow. Operators scaling past a handful of sites face the same challenge of keeping quality and service uniform, and a dedicated operations executive is one common answer.
