National Franchise Conference
27-29 August 2023 | Christchurch
The business environment is critical to our success, our speakers will share informative insights and draw on relevant franchising experience to challenge your status quo and propel you to shift gears.
Christopher Luxon is the Leader of the Opposition and the MP for Botany. He entered Parliament at the 2020 election and was elected Leader of the National Party in November 2021.
Prior to entering Parliament, Christopher was Chief Executive Officer of Air New Zealand from 2013 to 2019. Under his leadership, the airline delivered record profits and all time high customer satisfaction scores, and achieved its highest levels of staff engagement.
In addition, Air New Zealand won numerous accolades, including several celebrating it as the best airline in the world and others recognising its commitment to key areas such as sustainability, innovation, corporate reputation, employee engagement and customer experience. During Christopher’s tenure, the company held the No. 1 Corporate Reputation & Trust Company in New Zealand 2015–2019 and No. 1 Corporate Reputation & Trust Company in Australia 2017–2019.
Prior to joining Air New Zealand, Christopher was President and Chief Executive Officer at Unilever Canada. This was one of several senior leadership roles he held during an 18-year career at the multinational that saw him work in roles in Europe, North America, and Asia–Pacific. Christopher has a Master of Commerce in Business Administration from the University of Canterbury.
Christopher served as the inaugural Chair of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Business Advisory Council and has received wide recognition for his leadership including a Blake Leader Award, Deloitte CEO of the Year, Orient Aviation Person of the Year, and Deloitte Company of the Year.
With over 28 years franchising experience, Caci is the market leader in the skin and appearance industry with over 70 franchise locations throughout NZ. Caci’s strength comes from their passion for innovation, and their unique subscription-based membership model - which was tested and proven over the past two years of Covid business disruptions. Their commitment to building long-term relationships with customers and franchisees has given them the edge to continue to grow and scale, while maintaining a strong culture and brand story.
Join Ned Lyerly, CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc.’s CEO, for a glimpse into his company, it’s growth transformation and a candid conversation about how the company’s Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s brands emerged stronger than ever from the global pandemic.
Appointed Chief Executive Officer of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. in April 2019, Lyerly heads the parent company of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s quick service restaurant brands which feature a global footprint of over 3,900 franchised and company-operated restaurants in the United States, 42 foreign countries and U.S. territories.
Previously, Lyerly was the company’s President, International, responsible for the growth of the CKE international footprint to 1,000+ restaurants. Prior to that role, he was Executive Vice President of Global Franchise Development where he oversaw franchise development for the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. brands in the United States and around the world. Over his 37-year career with CKE, Lyerly has held senior positions across functional disciplines including: Senior Vice President International, Vice President International, Director - International Finance and Marketing, Director - Domestic Finance (Hardee’s Food Systems, Inc.) Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis (Imasco USA, Inc. / Hardee’s Food Systems, Inc.).
Lyerly, a Certified Franchise Executive, serves on the Board of CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc., the Board of the International Franchise Association and the advisory board for both the Rosenberg International Center of Franchising at the University of New Hampshire. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Sponsored by Stewart Germann Law
With an everchanging normal Green Acres & Hire A Hubby have implemented a business decision to transition Field Managers to Business Advisors – Jason from Green Acres & Hire A Hubby will share the process for change, and the results they are seeing.
Jason Hill is the General Manager for Green Acres and Hire A Hubby, two of the longest serving and most respected franchising brands in NZ. Jason brings a unique perspective to franchising & leadership having been part of the industry since finishing high school. Over the last 28 years Jason has been a franchisee for 16 years in Hamilton and has spent the last 12 years in various leadership roles across Australia & New Zealand. Jason is passionate about the vehicle that is franchising and the platform it creates to change people’s lives, and leads his team to ensure that franchisees thrive by bridging the gap between the franchisees and franchisor to build a powerful franchise brand.
An important role of a franchisor is to provide credible leadership and keep the franchise culture positive and healthy. The past few years have been challenging for franchisors in this regard. In this interactive keynote address, business psychologist, Greg Nathan, will share observations, insights and tips on how franchisor leaders can keep themselves, their teams and their franchisees feeling optimistic and motivated. The session will cover:
Greg Nathan is Founder of the Franchise Relationships Institute and is regarded internationally as the foremost expert on people issues in franchising. He is a registered business psychologist, author of several best-selling franchising books and developer of many influential franchising models.
Sponsored by Franchise New Zealand media
The existing mindset, model, and foundation upon which we currently conduct business has proven to be illusory, unsustainable, and ultimately destructive. Modern Slavery is just one of the many wider social and environmental realities that completely undermines any notion of “business as usual”. Moral imperatives aside, Modern Slavery poses a risk to every brand with a global supply chain, and both domestic and international legislative requirements are fundamentally changing the way business owners are now required to operate. Creating a new policy and adopting some additional “best practices” are on their own woefully insufficient and actually increase the risk of consumer backlash, public exposure and financial loss. For those business leaders who want to remain profitable and continue to add value to the marketplace, the invitation is to question our previously taken for granted definitions of success and consider a more beneficial mindset, model and future.
Prior to his role as Social Impact Manager at KMD Brands (Kathmandu, Rip Curl, Oboz) , Gary enjoyed 20 years in the New Zealand Police, serving as a Detective for the majority of that time. Working for an international human rights organisation, Gary spent four years investigating cases of Modern Slavery around the world, working undercover inside criminal networks. He subsequently launched a New Zealand anti-trafficking organization that utilized the skills and professional experience of New Zealand and Australian Police. Gary has applied the learnings and experience from his policing and human rights background to his current role as Kathmandu CSR Manager, responding to the very real social challenges inherent in the global supply chain as an authentic expression of the purpose and values of the company. Working across the three sectors of Government, NGO and Corporate as well as covertly inside a number of cultures and nations has provided him with a unique perspective on business and those factors that facilitate positive social and economic transformation. Gary holds a BA (Sociology and Psychology) from Canterbury University, Christchurch, and a Master’s degree (Third World Economic and Community Development) from Eastern University, Philadelphia.
In his address Ian will share the attitude and culture that has been at the core of a business that he started 32 years ago with the sole objective of never leaving Dunedin. If they were going to take on the world – then this was where they would do it from.
Ian was brought up in a small East Coast village on the North Island of New Zealand. He was seven when electricity arrived at his home. It was 1957. The telephone arrived a couple of years later. He didn't know it at the time but three years after he got electricity at his house, New Zealand got its first computer.
Ian founded Animation Research Ltd (ARL) in 1990 on nothing more than a handshake with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Otago. They bought their first hard drive to make their first TV commercial in 1991. It cost $15,000 and had 1 GB of memory. The computer they used for the America’s Cup in 1992 was the size of a small fridge and cost $500,000. Everything they did on that computer they can now do a mobile phone.
In 2019, Ian started Land of Voyagers which he says is the “most important work of his life.” Land of Voyagers documents the Polynesian voyage to Aotearoa in a way that’s never been done before, in order educate New Zealanders and to celebrate the incredible story of our Polynesian ancestors.
Ian holds an LLB from the University of Otago and was inducted into the New Zealand Hi-Tech Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2010, he was named North & South magazine’s New Zealander of the Year. In the same year, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the New Zealand Computer Society, the top honour of the ICT sector in New Zealand.
In 2021, Ian was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Years honours, recognised for his services to broadcasting, business and the community.
Sponsored by BDO
As people’s perception about what is important changes, so business needs to evolve to stay relevant to customers, team members, franchisees and shareholders etc. Having strong ethics and values is a growing trend in business and this panel will explore how this is changing their business, and how they are responding to this.
Facilitated by Michelle van Gaalen, Laser Plumbing & Electrical
Panellists:
Amber Manning, Just Cuts
Grant McLauchlan, CrestClean
Andy Lucas, The Coffee Club
This panel will see a strong focus on some really practical day to day questions that often come up. This will be a lively session and is a good opportunity for delegates to hear from people who regularly work in this space.
Facilitated by Craig Weston
Sponsored by Inspired Accountants
Panellists:
Daniel Cloete, Westpac
Philip Morrison, Franchise Accountants
Tristan Will, BDO
Three franchisors will strategise, key lessons and learnings, from sustaining franchisee performance and satisfaction through COVID and other recent challenges. The panel will cover key issues, franchisee performance and satisfaction measures, areas of management/leadership focus, and learnings.
Facilitated by Callum Floyd, Franchize Consultants
Panellists:
Brad Jacobs, The Coffee Club
Greg Paget, Cleantastic
Tony Burnette, Exceed
The panel will provide an overview on advocacy and key legal updates relevant to the changing landscape for the legal environment in New Zealand and Australia.
Facilitated by Darryl King, Jackson Russell Lawyers
Panellists:
Michael Bright, Gaze Burt
Andrew Shaw, Lane Neave
Mary Aldred, Franchise Council of Australia