Skill Samurai Australia CEO Jamie Buttigieg has scored the number one spot in this year’s Top 30 Franchise Executives report.
The just-released report, sponsored by CommBank, reveals the breadth and depth of talent across the franchising community in Australia, highlighting top performers in the sector.
Joining Buttigieg in the top rankings, Caitlin Bancroft, CMO at Collective Wellness, who came in at number two and in third place Phil Reed, former head of the Flynn Group ANZ, with responsibility for Pizza Hut Australia and Wendy’s.
Dr Omer Khan, founder and CEO of care provider OsanAbility, and KX Pilates’ CMO Tarran Grummisch, took out the fourth and fifth spots.
The Top 30 executives were judged on their commercial contributions, innovation and leadership, and showcased dedication to best practice.
Innovation proved key in this year’s list
In taking out the number one position Jamie Buttigieg made a significant impact on his education business. He addressed network growth challenges, streamlined processes, introduced a new CRM, launched a hugely-successful tuition program that boosted business and increased franchisee profitability, and saw a doubling of franchise locations.
Innovation was a key trend among this year’s top five, with marketing expert Caitlin Bancroft transforming marketing and business operations with a consumer-journey mapping project; Phil Reed introducing a raft of innovations including AI in the CRM; Dr Omer Khan creating advanced IT systems that integrate into existing healthcare frameworks; and Tarran Grummisch transforming and restructuring marketing to produce stronger performance metrics.
Judging this year’s raft of submissions from industry professionals were Shaun Stevens, general manager small business NSW/ACT at Commonwealth Bank; Jay Westbury, CEO of the Franchise Council of Australia; Sara Pantaleo, former head of La Porchetta and now leading Affari Mentoring and Coaching; Aussie multi-unit franchisee Sandra Sanches; and Sarah Stowe, Franchise Executives editor.
The executives who ranked in the top 30 celebrated with colleagues and industry peers at the report launch on Friday 23 May. The event was sponsored by Geotech, iWS by Deel, and Monday.com.
The Top 30 Franchise Executives 2025 report is available for free download.
