Q&A With Diana Mead: Listening, Leading, and Going the Distance
Diana Mead will be the first to tell you that a career is a marathon, not a sprint. For her, that saying rings especially true: starting her career as a Big 4 auditor and management consultant, she has scaled multiple organizations as an executive leader — including one to $50 million in just five years — and even earned a law degree along the way. Most recently, she and her business partner, Laura Wright, grew Denver-based OnePoint Franchise Accounting into a nationally recognized practice, achieving 350% revenue growth over a decade. Grassi welcomed OnePoint to the firm in November 2025.
Today, as a Partner at Grassi and Co-President of Grassi Franchise Services (GFS), she brings all that experience to bear for franchise and restaurant owners, operators, and investors navigating the challenges that come with growth. In this “Beyond the Bio” feature, Diana shares how listening more is becoming her most powerful leadership tool, why young professionals should embrace the “marathon,” and how her leadership approach has evolved over the years.
Q: Tell us about how you started your career and learned what you were passionate about.
A: I started out as a public accountant, and the learning experience I gained working at a larger firm early in my career was incredible for my development. I quickly learned how much I loved solving problems and working with people, so I moved into management consulting, which allowed me to gain broader exposure across multiple aspects of business.
I started to really understand and internalize the key elements that make a company successful, as well as how the needs of a company change with growth. Through that work, I also began to understand how critical high-functioning leaders are to an organization’s success.
Q: That early accounting and consulting experience can open a lot of doors. You also went to law school mid-career. What was the motivation?
A: In a lot of ways, it was personal achievement. Law school was something I always wanted to do, and I did not want to regret not going. I believe it has helped make me a more well-rounded business leader, and it was well worth the investment.
I took as many intellectual property and employment law classes as I could. I loved those classes and felt they were a real passion. My legal education gave me a new way of thinking about problems and taught me to see and argue different sides of the same issue. That skill continues to be very valuable.
Q: What was the key to scaling OnePoint Franchise Accounting so successfully?
A: At our core, we are a people business. Laura and I innately understood that from the beginning.
To be successful, you need to be committed to your clients and your people, while constantly assessing the market and what your clients need and want. Success starts with one client at a time: listening, delivering what you promise and supporting your team of people. We stayed committed to those principles, and that is what enabled our success.
Q: What are some of the key challenges you see franchise clients facing?
A: From the owner and operator side, the biggest challenge is figuring out where to prioritize and spend time. When you run a small business or a franchise, you do so many things! You may be doing HR, inventory management, sales, accounting, and finance all at once. We all only have a certain number of hours in the day.
On top of that, restaurants face their own difficulties. While a good, well-run franchise gives an owner a playbook to succeed, certain factors, like inflation and labor supply, are outside of their control. Turnover is another big one. It is hard to have consistency and deliver a high-quality product when you are constantly hiring and training new people. Theft is also a real issue in any cash business, so having the proper cash management controls in place matters too.
Q: With all of those pressures at play, how do you stay close to your clients and make sure they feel supported?
A: Just being human. We are not robots. My clients have my cell phone number, and I have theirs. People feel valued when they know they have access to the people on their account, and that availability and responsiveness can go a long way.
Overall, clients want to be confident that you can meet their needs and that you’ll respond if they need you. And it is important to meet with them regularly, because the challenges they deal with are going to change and evolve.
Q: Switching gears, how would you say your leadership approach has evolved over the years?
A: After 30 years, I am a much more confident leader, but also a more collaborative one. Earlier in my career, my approach was more top-down. Over time, I learned to be a better listener, although this is something I still work on every day.
I knew I had changed when I had team members who felt comfortable enough to disagree with me confidently and frequently if they felt strongly about something. Part of a leader’s responsibility is creating an environment where people feel comfortable contributing even when their views are contrarian. Knowing their opinion matters is critical. That means bringing humility and a sense of humor to work every morning.
Q: What advice would you give to young professionals who are just starting out?
A: Take every opportunity that is given to you. Experience as many different things as you can. If your firm offers a rotation in another department, try it. It is also a way to figure out what you enjoy doing and what you do not. Network outside of your organization. Go out, meet your peers and understand what they are doing and what their firms do well.
Q: Can you tell us about a recent time that you mentored a young professional, and the advice that you gave?
A: I recently hosted an event at my home for 16 young professionals between the ages of 20 and 30, all from different industries, through the Young Presidents’ Organization. I brought in the former head of the Peace Corps to talk about service, leadership, and the lessons she learned in her career.
We talked about how many young professionals today need a greater appreciation for the fact that passion comes with mastery, and mastery comes with time. A lot of the drudgery we take on early in our careers — that routine, mundane work — is actually the work that sets us up to become true experts later on. I wish someone had told me that I was not running a 5k. I was running an ultra-marathon.
Q: Have mentors played a role in your own career?
A: Absolutely. I’ve had formal mentors who took a personal interest in me and who helped me think through the next step and “grab the next rung.” But I also believe mentors are around us all the time if we are paying attention. A mentor can be someone who shows up in your daily life, even just to help you for a moment. Guideposts and mentors show up more often than we are even tuned in to, so developing that awareness can be impactful.
Q: What is something you have done in your career that you are most proud of?
A: A friend of mine, an employment lawyer, and I hosted pro bono salary negotiation workshops for women and minority groups through organizations like the Women’s Foundation, the Women’s Division of the Colorado Bar Association, and Mi Casa.
It is something I am really proud of because I have seen too many talented women leave money on the table, either because they were not sure how to make their case or because they did not feel they had permission to ask. The workshops were about changing that and giving women practical tools to advocate for themselves.
Q: What are some of the core principles you teach in those workshops?
A: It really comes down to three things. First, do not just walk in and ask for a raise. Get the data. A lot of industries have organizations that publish salary benchmarks, and the internet is an incredible resource. Know your market rate before you walk in the door.
Second, keep track of your accomplishments throughout the year. If a colleague sends you a note saying you went above and beyond, save it. Do not wait until self-evaluation season, and try to piece together only the last 30 days. And then, ask for what you want. Do the homework, build the case, and make the ask. It sounds simple, but a lot of people skip one step or more.
Q: And to close, a fun one. What is something people might not know about you?
A: On my 40th birthday, which fell on a Wednesday, I got up that morning and did my own individual Olympic triathlon, out of order. I did the run first, then the bike, then the swim, each leg with a different friend. I finished the triathlon and was at my office by 1:30 that afternoon.
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Diana Mead is a Partner at Grassi and the Co-President of Grassi Franchise Services (GFS). She has been a leader in the financial services industry for over 25 years. She serves on the board of directors of the Global Livingston Institute and Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) Gold Rocky Mountain, and has served on the Colorado Children’s Campaign Board, Circle of Friends, and the Denver Children’s Hospital Advisory Board. She has been named a “40 Under 40” nominee by Denver Business Journal, and one of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado” by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce.