Meet the FRI Team

Ree-Anna ChatmanOperations Manager

Ree-Anna is one of FRI’s longest standing team members. She is almost a fully registered psychologist and is a fantastic facilitator, presenter and trainer. Ree is well liked and respected by our clients for her friendly, straight-forward approach. She also does an amazing job of managing our Operations team, ensuring that the needs of our clients are properly understood and making sure we have all bases covered. Speaking of bases, Ree is also a State Level Softball Coach with a keen interest in applying the principles of sports psychology to business success.

Don’t worry, Ree-Anna won’t turn up to your franchise conference like this. But here she is decked out in her full softball regalia. Knock it out of the park Ree!

Aaron ChowdhuryAssociate

If you think Aaron looks wired you'd be right. After 10 years with Gloria Jean’s Coffees you would expect him to be buzzing! He started with Gloria Jean’s Coffees when they had just 13 stores (they now have over 900 stores worldwide) and has an amazing breadth and depth of experience in operations and training roles. Would you believe he has worked with franchisees and master franchisees from over 30 countries? Aaron recently joined the FRI team and we're really excited. If you are lucky enough to have him working with your team you will find him to be genuinely caring, a deep thinker and an outstanding presenter and facilitator.

Aaron is a coffee fanatic — always on the look-out for that perfect cup. If you look carefully into those eyes you'll see his pupils are shaped like coffee beans!

Ann NathanPublications Director

Ann has a degree in English literature and for many years worked as a Research Fellow at Monash University’s Department of Higher Education. She loves to read and is addicted to Sudoku. Ann looks after our publications division, so if you are ordering books by phone or through our web site, chances are she will be looking after you. She has the dubious honour of being the partner of our MD and thinks there is a real opportunity for franchise companies to be more environmentally conscious.

Katherine Saunders Marketing and Events Manager

Katherine is our go-to girl at FRI. She is across all aspects of the business from managing our Marketing, to running our Events, supporting the MD and Operations team, as well as handling our IT needs! Prior to moving to Australia and becoming a part of the FRI team Katherine spent seven years in the British Navy as a Navigation Officer, where she was responsible for the safety and welfare of up to 200 crew. She has an extraordinary ability to get things done.

Katherine loves cooking, loves travelling, loves music, and is crazy about animals!

Joanna ConnelleyResearch and Development Manager

Joanna joined FRI in 2008 as a part-time research assistant and has worked her way up to now lead our Research and Development Department. She competently manages all our R&D projects (and there are many) as well as the Nathan Profiler. Jo’s disciplined and organised approach provides a great balance to the creative chaos generated by our MD. They are quite a team working tirelessly to improve our products and develop new ones to meet the emerging needs of our clients.

Lucky for us, Joanna loves to cook and often takes time out to make delicious treats for the team.

Rebecca MurrellConsulting Assistant

Rebecca has an honours degree in psychology and is the newest member of the FRI team. After completing her studies she took a year off to try her hand at a number of practical jobs before re-embarking on her path to become a registered psychologist. If you are a client you will have the pleasure of working with Rebecca who you will find to be incredibly friendly, attentive and reliable. She is the Operations Manager’s left hand lady and knows the ins and outs of all our projects.

So you think you can dance? Rebecca happens to be a state-level ballroom dancer, specialising in latin!

Nicole SimpsonResearch Assistant

Nicole has been a part time Research Assistant at FRI for several years and has recently completed her Honours in Psychology. She is amazingly flexible and helps out in every department of the FRI community, including Operations and R & D. If you are having a Franchise Satisfaction Survey completed chances are Nicole will be working on your numbers. Nicole is an enthusiastic musician with a passion for the franchising industry and soon hopes to become a registered psychologist.

When Nicole isn’t rocking out at FRI, you’ll find her rocking out in her Indie band, “Cascadeer” playing the french horn.

Ilana NathanResearch Assistant

Ilana is completing her psychology degree at the University of Queensland and works part-time with the Operations team. Like her Uncle Greg she has great writing skills and has become an integral part of FRI, turning her mind to whatever needs to be done to contribute to the productivity of the team and keep our clients happy.

Ilana can often be found sweating it out at the gym. We’ve also heard on the grapevine that she has a great singing voice!

Moshe the Golden Retrieverex-Director of Security

We are sad to report that we recently lost our Director of Security to old age. He was 14. We are told that in the canine security industry this is equivalent to being 98 years old — not a bad innings. Moshe brought a lot of joy to our staff and our guests. As a dedication to this loyal, lovable, generous soul we share the following tips. Like all good teachers, Moshe inspired us through his example rather than his words.

Moshe’s Rules for a Happy, Stress Free Life

• Don’t hold grudges.
• Maintain a healthy sense of curiousity.
• Show it when you’re happy to see someone.
• Be optimistic and proactive in seeking things out.
• Always be on the look out for someone to have fun with.
• When there’s nothing to be done, relax and enjoy the moment.
• Enjoy your food.
• Have a good stretch every morning.
• If you want something from someone, be nice to them.
• And if they don’t give it to you, still be nice to them.
• Be loyal to your friends and family.

Despite his wisdom a little known fact about Moshe is that he never learned to let go of a ball and so missed out on the fun of playing fetch.

Greg NathanManaging Director

Greg is a corporate psychologist and international expert on managing the people issues in franchising. He is Founder of FRI and creator of several popular franchise management tools such as the Franchise E-Factor model and the Nathan Profiler. His books have been translated into several languages and he is regularly invited to deliver keynote addresses at franchising conferences around the globe. Greg’s introduction to franchising started way back in 1979 with the Brumby’s Bakery group where he was a multi-site franchisee and later became the group’s National Marketing and Operations Manager. In 2003 the Franchise Council of Australia presented him with the inaugural National “Contribution to Franchising” Award in recognition of his pioneering work in franchise education and research. In 2007 The Franchise Times named Greg as one of the “Top 20” thought leaders to watch in the USA.

Greg is a passionate blues musician and can often be found searching for unusual stringed instruments to add to his collection.

Dr Chris JacksonResearch and Development Consultant

Chris is Professor of Psychology at the Australian School of Business, University of NSW, and is an expert in the design and use of psychological tests. He works with our R&D team on the development and validation of our products. Chris’s energy and enthusiasm for psychology is infectious and his visits to our office always result in new and valuable insights.

Chris has developed one of the world’s most respected learning styles questionnaires, “The Learning Styles Profiler”, (see www.cymeon.com).

Anthony CannellInterim CEO

Anthony has become an integral part of the FRI team, assisting with the management of the business and leading our drive for world domination! He is currently our interim CEO helping us to get our ducks in a row and provides a healthy kick up the pants to anyone caught having too much fun, especially our MD.