Karim Jivraj
Group Franchise Director, Queensway Coffee Houses Ltd, Queensway Europe

I joined Queensway in 2014 having spent 3 years in Management Consultancy working on projects across both the private and public sector. Prior to this, I worked in several roles at Cancer Research UK.

As the Group Franchise Director for Queensway, my responsibility oversees both Queensway Coffee Houses Ltd (QCHL) and Queensway Europe (QWE).  QCHL was one of the first franchisees of Starbucks in the UK and we have grown over the last 10 years to now have more than 30 coffee shops.  I am privileged not only to lead this business but to have an experienced leadership team delivering against our ambitious growth plans to double the size of the estate in by 2030. QWE is a franchisee of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), where we have exclusive rights to develop the KFC brand in both Austria and Slovakia.  We have a strong and experienced local management team across both countries.  As with our Starbucks business, QWE has bold growth ambitions in Europe.

My role is predominantly to support and empower my teams to deliver our strategy through our company culture and values. In addition, I enjoy meeting new people and building meaningful relationships with people who can support me and my business, and who I can learn from. Scaling up a business quickly and being associated with global powerhouse brands, brings lots of learning, interesting challenges and fun opportunities.  When I see our teams develop and grow their careers within Queensway, I feel incredibly proud.

Outside of work, I volunteer my time and knowledge within my religious community. I have led large scale community events and was recently appointed Chairperson of the Aga Khan Economic Planning Board’s Personal Finance committee. In addition, since 2020 I continue to be an active member of YPO (Young President’s Organisation), and I enjoy exercising regularly and have a young daughter, Eva, who takes up most of my time at weekends!