Gustav started off his educational journey at the University of Pretoria as a BCom Informatics student because information technology was a skill that he simply seemed to practise in his stride. Having had his own computer company since Matric and applying his knowledge as part-time sales consultant in this industry, Gustav was ready for a career in IT. However, having completed his first year, he realised that he wanted to specialise in marketing and management, and he enrolled at the IMM Graduate School of Marketing to further his studies. Gustav recently completed an ICT Master’s degree at UP.

The road that led Gustav to Director of Franchise Operations started in 2010 when he was appointed IT Support Administrator at Edublox Reading and Learning Clinic. In this capacity, Gustav was responsible for IT administration, which entailed desktop support, email setup, software setup and management, and the monitoring of servers and work stations across all the Edublox franchises.

Gustav developed a keen interest in the business side of the company, and whereas his initial involvement was to design and upgrade the business management Excel files, he soon came to manage the entire Edublox business system and SharePoint, liaising with the system developer and delegating support items to staff. During this period, he also became a franchise business consultant and facilitated monthly performance discussions with franchisees.

As the number of franchisees grew, Gustav’s expertise developed to such an extent that he was able to progressively take on more responsibilities. Over a period of three years, he managed to change his title through his dedicated involvement in franchise operations, and today he directs all franchise aspects, namely site approval and selection, coaching, monitoring performance, facilitating communication and co-ordinating monthly franchisee forums, to name but a few, while still keeping his fingers on the development-pulse to ensure ongoing refinement and cutting edge operational processes.