After a successful career managing international sporting sites, including an Olympic venue, Ray Buckland is abandoning his suit and tie for an apron and oven mitts.
“I was a corporate junkie all of my life, but I hit a stage in my career where I wanted something of my own,” says Mr. Buckland, the former general manager of the Sydney Showground, the baseball venue for the 2000 Olympics, and venue director for the 2005 World Masters Games in Edmonton.
Mr. Buckland recently bought a Cobs Bread bakery franchise and plans to open its first Edmonton location in May. The Australia-based franchise is expanding across Canada, and Mr. Buckland saw it as an opportunity to make a career change that would take him into retirement.
“At my age, I started to think about what I wanted to do when I’m 55 and 65,” says the 48-year-old Australia native who lives in Edmonton with his Canadian wife.
Mr. Buckland is part of a growing trend of baby boomers leaving white-collar work and buying franchises.
“In the eighties and nineties people were looking at franchises as a way of replacing a job. Now it’s seen as more of a lifestyle change,” says Richard Cunningham, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Franchise Association. “Being your own boss is part of that lifestyle change.”
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