Michelle van Gaalen
I have more than 14 years’ experience within the franchising sector in New Zealand. This experience has been both personally in establishing franchise systems, as well as 11 years leading NZ Post Retail and now 3 years with Belron NZ which is the franchisor for Laser Plumbing & Electrical, and Exceed. Working across both corporate and franchise systems has provided me with insight and appreciation of the different issues and perspectives faced by Franchisors and Franchisees.
Today, as Managing Director of Belron NZ Limited, I am fortunate enough to work with both of our franchise businesses, plus Smith&Smith® which is primarily a corporate-owned business. I am also on the Board on Kiwi Insurance Limited and have over 10 years of governance experience on various boards, which I also think provides me with a unique perspective.
I am pleased to be able to join the board of the Franchise Association of New Zealand as I believe that franchising has been, and will continue to be, a successful business model for New Zealand. In these changing times, we need to ensure that regulatory and business changes take into account the unique nature of franchise systems in New Zealand.