Q: What is your background?
A: I have spent most of my career to date in various finance roles. In doing so, I have always tried to shape the various roles with entrepreneurial thinking. Since I joined Pirtek in 2019, I have developed the finance department into an essential part of Pirtek Germany & Austria’s development.
Q: What are the benefits of having developed with the business?
A: Pirtek is a well-established franchise system, whose strength is based, among other things, on a reliable partnership between franchisees and franchisor. Especially in the challenging economic environment, 61 Franchise Brands plc Interviews with our senior leaders it is important to demonstrate continuity and reassurance to our franchise partners so they continue to invest in their business. Above all, franchising is a people business. It is important to know and understand the structures and network within a system and I am well placed to do this given my experience of the business and the relationships I have developed.
Q: What are your key strategic priorities in your new role?
A: Developing the franchise network is an important priority. Pirtek was established in Germany in 1996 and after ten years of consolidation of franchise partners, there are a number of franchise partners who will be looking for successors for their businesses in the medium-term. It is important to have financially strong franchise partners who continue to invest in growth and I am keen to attract new franchisees, with all their new energy, ideas and ambition, building on the strong platform for growth we have established.
Q: How does Pirtek help develop various models for franchisee succession?
A: We can do this from within the company or from outside. Here, too, there must be a high degree of trust and security for both partners. Experience shows that we have so far had very ambitious partners who continue to invest in the development of their own company until it is sold, thus also supporting our further growth.
Q: Where do you see the market potential for Pirtek?
A: Pirtek’s traditional strength is the reactive business. Customers value our reliable, fast and safe service. To continue to grow, it’s important to invest in additional mobile service units and Pirtek centres and make sure we have the labour to carry out the service delivery.
Q: What are the other growth areas of the business?
A: There is a great opportunity in preventative maintenance and servicing which is a clear growth area. We have acquired many new customers in this area in recent years and there is an opportunity to further develop our service portfolio. There are also sectors where we are under represented and where we can leverage our knowledge and expertise to develop new customer groups and industries. I want to change the mindset that we can do more in different areas building on our core competence in reactive work.
