As Director of Franchise Development for Pizza Hut U.S. Clare led and developed direct reports, including a construction and design team, recruitment specialists, a market planning team, franchise development managers and real estate specialists. Utilizing her team to work directly with franchisees, she was responsible for opening over 500 new franchise restaurants across the United States and drove franchisee execution of the Asset Partner Plan agreement, initiated in 2016. The result, completion of over 700 remodels in three years.

 

Clare was instrumental in establishing a Market Planning process, personally consulting with around 40 franchisees, accounting for over 3,000 restaurants, to develop their personalized 10-year asset strategy. As Pizza Hut introduced alternative concepts to meet the consumer’s changing needs, Clare leads the analysis of results thereby enabling insightful guidance to franchisees on the appropriate application of the new options.

Prior to moving to the U.S. Clare led Development for Pizza Hut Canada for four years.

Clare spearheaded the reversal of the negative growth trend through creation of new franchise recruitment techniques, identification of new market opportunities, and development of new asset models. Clare led and developed direct report, including a construction and design team, recruitment specialists, a market planning team, franchise development managers and real estate specialists.

Clare Nishikawa isn’t your regular franchise development lead however. Having worked for Nielsen for over a decade before joining the world of restaurant development, her career had been built on data analytics, consultancy and client management rather than real estate. She’d suggest this has been key to her success in driving franchisor/franchisee growth and stability across both Canada and the United States.

Clare is a strategic and visionary leader who has consistently achieved breakthrough results across multiple local and global roles within both the restaurant and consumer packaged goods industries. She is a proven growth driver of sales and brand expansion supported through a breadth of experience in development, client management, marketing, communications, analytics and asset strategy.

Clare’s guidance to franchisors provides insight to her perspective…

 

“Entering a relationship with full transparency, resolving gaps in franchisee development resources, making decisions built upon data, listening to learn from the franchisees and focusing on long term vs. short term growth will help create an open, honest, collaborative relationship with your franchisees and give you the greatest possible chance of success."

​

Having grown up in Reading, UK, Clare left her extended family for Canada in 2000 soon after marrying Jeff, her Canadian husband. The majority of Clare’s time in Canada was within Toronto, close to her husband’s family, although they also spent a few years in Montreal, to support a Nielsen client. Clare, Jeff and her two teenage sons, Ben and Colton, moved to Dallas, TX in 2016 to join the Pizza Hut US team. Change is part of Clare’s DNA and one she’s cultivating in her sons who at the ages of 19 and 21 are now in their 5th and 6th houses. As a family they love to travel anywhere and everywhere including multiple trips back to Europe. Over the last several years Clare has fed her personal love of travel with franchisee visits across 44 US States.