International recognition for NZ franchise lawyer

Auckland franchise lawyer Stewart Germann has become the first person operating in New Zealand to have qualified as a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE). The award was made at a special ceremony during Australia’s National Franchise Convention on Tuesday night.

CFE is the only internationally-recognised professional accreditation programme for franchise executives. Originally founded in the USA over 20 years ago, it was licensed to the Franchise Council of Australia in 2014.

‘The mission of the CFE programme is to enhance the professionalism of franchising by certifying the highest standards of quality training and education,’ says the FCA. ‘This career development programme offers existing and aspiring franchise professionals and entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow and reach a recognised standard of excellence within the local and international franchise community.’

Stewart Germann says, ‘In my opinion, CFE is like a Bachelor of Franchising degree. It’s a 1-2 year course which requires participation in various ongoing education activities, but experienced franchising people can generally complete it in one year. The last step is to sit an online examination which includes 20 questions on the Australian Franchising Code of Conduct – which has nothing to do with New Zealand.

‘Sadly, there is no undergraduate degree for franchising in New Zealand and the University of Auckland has not taught the subject for a number of years – the last time franchising was taught as a dedicated subject at tertiary level was at Unitec almost 20 years ago. But I have been invited to be the lecturer in franchise law at AUT law school in 2020 which will be quite a lot of hard work but very exciting. I hope to help bring understanding and enthusiasm for franchising to the next generation.’