Franchise Council of Australia Elects Marcel Lal as Chair

The Franchise Council of Australia board has elected Marcel Lal of ERA as chair and Concept Eight’s Callum Mackay as deputy chair for a one-year term.

Both Lal and Mackay have served two years on the FCA board, with Lal having featured in the Top 30 Franchise Executives report in 2019 and 2023.

Executive Track Record Across Multi-Unit Brands

Lal brings 18 years of franchise sector experience to the post. He currently serves as global group chief development officer at ERA. Before joining ERA, he worked as global chief operating officer at InXpress, having previously spent five years as chief executive officer for Asia Pacific and one year as general manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Mackay serves as general manager of innovation and virtual brands at hospitality group Concept Eight. His operating background includes senior management roles at Sushi Sushi, six years with Retail Zoo, and four years at convenience chain 7-Eleven.

Restructuring Governance and Board Diversity

The reconstituted board includes three elected women directors and two dedicated franchisee positions. These structural changes follow a two-year campaign aimed at resetting internal controls and restoring confidence across regional networks.

Lal said the council has completed its initial stabilization agenda. Resources will now shift toward industry education and sector visibility. The organization plans to use its revised framework to expand outreach to multi-unit operators across regional retail corridors.

Expanding Franchisee Engagement Across States

For brands and franchisors across the region, leadership stability at peak industry associations directly affects regulatory lobbying, dispute mediation standards, and compliance benchmarking. Australia’s franchising code remains one of the strictest regulatory environments in Asia-Pacific. It sets operational precedents that franchise systems frequently replicate in nearby expansion markets.

Mackay emphasized that expanding direct participation by unit operators is central to stabilizing the membership base. The council intends to roll out targeted regional programs before channeling delegates toward larger industry gatherings.

“We’ve spent the last two years rebuilding trust among the membership base, and getting constitutional change was a line in the sand moment.”

Focus on National Franchising Convention Targets

This leadership transition follows two years of constitutional adjustments designed to balance voting power between major franchisors and local store operators. Earlier governance friction had prompted calls for broader representation, leading directly to the current boardroom restructure.

State-level events will now test the council’s revised membership strategy, building attendance targets for the upcoming National Franchising Convention.