Having begun his career in retail in the late 1970s as a field auditor, a period of his life that would see him go on to take control of his own supermarket branch in 1984, Cutler took his first steps into franchising in 1993 when he joined Shell South Africa as a Territory Manager when the roll out of the Select convenience store concept started.

In 2005, after a very successful career with Shell, Cutler and his family left South Africa and returned to the UK where he worked as General Manager for an upmarket franchised home transformation company. He later joined Card Connection as a Sales and Franchise Director, where one of his responsibilities was franchisee recruitment.

Before joining OPC, Cutler was a Franchise Development Consultant for The Franchising Centre, one of Europe’s leading franchise advisors. While working with businesses from all types of industries, this role gave Cutler a greater insight into all aspects of franchising including development and financing from a franchise owner perspective.

Cutler said: “My time spent as both a franchisor and a franchisee have really helped me to understand the franchise relationship having experienced it from both sides. I know how financially and personally rewarding a well-developed franchise system can be for all parties and it is this that will provide the most satisfaction in my new role.”

Published: 7 July 2014

Back to news