Head of Franchising — 3@1 Franchising (Pty) Ltd - The Franchise Coach SA
(2025-09 - 2026-06)
- Full executive accountability for a 90+ store national franchise network — property, site and store development, and operational leadership.
- Led the National Area Management team of franchise managers, driving operational excellence, brand standards and performance improvement across all locations.
- Drove the new store development pipeline: site identification, landlord engagement, build-out management and opening readiness for full-format stores and the new Pop-Up kiosk format.
- Directed business planning and performance improvement support for franchisees nationally, identifying operational challenges and implementing corrective strategies.
- Owned franchisee relationship management across the network — performance accountability, compliance, training and support structures at every stage of the franchisee lifecycle.
- Drove network innovation and profitability initiatives across Red, Yellow and Green store performance tiers, including supplier engagement and national campaign consistency.
- Authored the Country Growth Plan and projections, Store Visit Reports and Master Templates for tracking store rollout, revamp progress and performance accountability.
Head of Franchise — Consulting to Franchisors (Multiple Brands) - The Franchise Coach SA
(2020-02 - 2025-08)
Appointed Head of Franchising for AMKA Skin / i-BLOOM Solutions / Imbalie Beauty — full executive leadership of franchise sales, site identification, lease negotiation and store development across four brands (Placecol Skin Care Clinics, Placecol Spa, Dream Nails Beauty, Perfect 10) for five years and seven months.
- Managed the full new business development cycle: franchise sales pipeline, applicant qualification, site identification, lease negotiation, franchisee selection, training, project management of store builds and opening.
- Owned national management of the franchise network and area management team oversight across all four brands.
- Personally negotiated rental relief and lease restructuring with landlords on behalf of franchisees across seven brands during COVID-19, protecting network stability through the sector's most severe trading disruption.
- Rebuilt the franchise compliance framework across all four brands, achieving full FASA Code and CPA alignment and establishing a documented, auditable network standard.
- Authored and implemented Country Development Plans, providing each brand with a structured, territory-mapped growth roadmap.
- Drove network innovation, supplier engagement and profitability improvement across Red, Yellow and Green store performance tiers.
- Designed and deployed ICU intervention programmes for underperforming stores: financial analysis, debt management, franchisee coaching and formal remediation plans.
- Served as primary legal liaison with franchise attorneys on new agreements, disclosure documents, AODs, cessions and resales.
- Additional clients (2020–2021): Vovo Telo, Curves Africa, Gary Rom Hairdressing, Kryolan Makeup, Curves Head Office and studios (Centurion East, Pretoria North, Brits).
Business Coaching (External Service Provider) - Siyakha Consulting – SMME Development Services
(2024-05 - 2025-02)
- Led a team of 8 Business Coaches delivering SMME development programmes, accountable for needs analysis, monthly SMME reporting to stakeholders and programme integrity against development plan targets.
General Manager & Franchise Executive — 53 Studios (SA, Namibia, Botswana) - Body20 Global (Pty) Ltd
(2018-10 - 2019-08)
- Full P&L accountability for a 53-studio EMS franchise network across three countries and two regional offices, with direct oversight of the entire franchisee base.
- Drove the new studio development pipeline: venue identification, site due diligence, lease negotiations, franchisee onboarding and opening management.
- Led area and regional management across the network — franchisee engagement, training, performance management, compliance and brand standards.
- Rebuilt the marketing function across digital, social and in-studio channels to drive lead generation and network-wide brand consistency.
- Held full HR accountability: organisational structure, policy, labour compliance and day-to-day people management.
- Elected to the FASA Council as Body20's representative (2019).
National Franchise Executive — Yale Security Point (SA & Namibia) - Yale Security SA (Pty) Ltd
(2013-05 - 2014-07)
- Sole executive responsible for the entire Yale Security Point franchise division — national oversight of 16 stores, property and store development pipeline, franchise sales and operational performance.
- New store openings: site due diligence, full lease negotiation with national landlords and mall management, project manage store builds and openings.
- Managed the full franchise sales function, applicant vetting and franchise fee management, reducing arrears through direct franchisee engagement and formal AOD processes.
- Managed area managers, franchisee training and development, and the marketing team for national promotions and campaigns.
- Rebuilt the franchise website, including a national territory availability map, generating inbound landlord and franchisee enquiries; grew third-party supply chain revenue from R60,000 to R400,000 within six months.
- Managed all franchise legal documentation — agreements, disclosure documents, information packs and Operations Manual.
Regional Franchise Manager — West Rand (27 Stores) - Famous Brands / Steers Division
(2012-10 - 2013-02)
- Regional accountability for 27 Steers stores — operational assessments, franchisee performance management, reporting and national campaign compliance.
- Produced weekly and monthly turnover reporting for royalty and marketing fee management across the regional footprint, ensuring stores traded profitably.
Business Development Manager — Franchise Sales & New Store Growth (Contract) - O'Hagan's Franchising
(2010-04 - 2010-10)
- Sole accountability for the national new store development pipeline: franchise sales, site identification, due diligence, lease negotiations and opening-day management.
- Built the complete development office documentation suite, providing the brand with the infrastructure to scale its store rollout professionally.
New Business Development Manager — Franchise Sales Across 4 Brands (Contract) - Mochachos Franchise Management
(2009-01 - 2010-03)
- Managed franchise sales and store development pipelines simultaneously across four brands: Mochachos Chicken Villages, Café Bacini's, Skippers Fish & Chips and Max Frango's.
- Guided franchisee candidates through finance applications with major banks and development funds, improving conversion from approval to signed agreement.
Assistant Brand Development Manager — Franchise Brand Creation (Contract) - ACDC Dynamics / ACDC Express
(2008-08 - 2008-12)
- Built the ACDC Express franchise brand with Franchise Directions — legal documentation, operations manuals and franchisee selection criteria — delivering a fully FASA-aligned offering.
- Supported the conversion of the first ACDC Express flagship store in Randburg, and opened the second in Ballito, KZN.
Franchise Development Manager — Franchise Sales & New Store Pipeline - Placecol Holdings / Dream Nails and Body
(2007-10 - 2008-07)
- Drove national franchise sales and store development pipeline for Placecol and Dream Nails, from site approval through agreement execution and opening. This included rental analysis and turnover projections.
- Managed legally and financially complex franchise exits: resales, foreclosures and lease transfers.
- Managed division budgeting, Area Managers' KPIs and performance, and monthly reporting.
National Franchise Sales Manager — 42 Store Target Per Annum - True North Holdings / Multiserv
(2006-03 - 2007-09)
- Delivered a national new store development target of 42 openings per year: prospecting, territory research, site identification and lease negotiation from enquiry to opening.
- Provided direct area management for 3 East Rand stores, delivering performance recovery for under-trading franchisees.
PA to MD & Franchise Sales Co-ordinator - True North Holdings / Cash Converters Southern Africa
(2005-03 - 2006-06)
- Supported franchise sales and site co-ordination for new Cash Converters stores — prospect database management and new store project co-ordination with the operations team.
Retail Operations - Truworths (Pty) Ltd - Northern Transvaal Division
Catherine's career began in retail operations at Truworths (Pty) Ltd within the Northern Transvaal Division, where she gained hands-on grounding in store-level administration, credit and accounts management, and divisional operations. In this role she managed new account openings and credit checks against target, issued temporary credit facilities and handled account enquiries, while also carrying full secretarial and administrative responsibility for the Divisional Administration Manager. Her remit expanded to include fleet management for the division's delivery vehicles, health and safety and incident reporting across stores, and a period managing the statistical department — compiling weekly branch turnover and month-end reporting.
This early exposure to retail systems, compliance and customer-facing operations laid the operational foundation for her subsequent 23-year career in franchise, property and store development.
