WHO WE ARE
We've done this before. At scale.
Born from the CAN Do attitude of Southeast Asia, CANnect Asia is a boutique F&B growth and expansion consultancy headquartered in Singapore, built around a regional network of senior operators, consultants and project specialists.
OUR STORY
Built by the people brands used to hire in-house.
For decades, the only way to expand an F&B brand across Asia was to build a regional development team from scratch: expensive, slow and hard to unwind. CANnect Asia exists so you do not have to. We bring former regional and global leaders who have worked across more than a dozen countries, from small governments to large multinationals, and deploy them as your fractional team.
- Headquartered in Singapore, working across East and Southeast Asia, from Japan and Korea through ASEAN
- Specialist capability across restaurant chains, multi-unit operators, food products, FMCG and manufacturing brands
- Every route to market covered: corporate, joint venture, franchise, licensing, distribution and strategic partnership
LEADERSHIP
Meet the team.
Dave Acton
FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
35+ years in F&B strategy and growth, with senior leadership credentials spanning global brands including Dairy Queen and 4Fingers across Asia. Dave has led market entries, franchise systems and turnarounds in more than a dozen countries, and personally leads every Market Diagnostic.
Karen Eidsvik
STRATEGIC DIRECTOR
Karen leads the strategic thinking behind market entry and expansion: where to go, how to enter, who to partner with, and what needs to be true before capital is committed. Having helped build Subway’s presence across Asia from its early regional growth stage, she brings more than two decades of hands-on experience across the full business operations, real estate, logistics, marketing, partner management, and local execution. Karen is the counterweight in the room: pressure-testing assumptions, challenging easy answers, and helping clients move forward with clarity.
Brennan De Souza
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
A results-driven business development and commercial leader with over 15 years of experience driving sustainable growth across internationally recognised hospitality and retail brands. Brennan brings proven expertise in improving commercial performance, identifying market opportunities, developing strategic partnerships and leading multi-site operations to deliver measurable commercial outcomes.
David Leong
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
A business development leader with deep expertise in mergers and acquisitions, sale and purchase transactions and franchise network expansion across the QSR and consumer sectors. David structures growth strategies that balance owner economics with investor returns, evaluating deals through ROIC, EBITDA and cash flow lenses, and works closely with PE sponsors, boards and FP&A teams, pairing operator instinct with PE-grade rigor on capital allocation.
Benjamin Lim
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Benjamin helps business owners, investors and leadership teams improve operational performance, drive profitability and build scalable businesses through practical, data-driven solutions. A management consultant with over 20 years in business transformation and growth strategy across foodservice, hospitality, retail and franchise, he is CEO of Simplex Pte Ltd and holds an MBA from Chicago Booth, CFSP certification and an honorary Doctor of Foodservice from NAFEM.
Sam Tan
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Sam is a franchise growth and operations specialist with over 20 years across Australia's café and QSR sector, he has held past roles such as Franchise Sales & Marketing and Regional Franchise Area Coach roles at Soul Origin, and senior operations leadership at Jamaica Blue and Gotcha Fresh Tea. He has sat on both sides of franchise growth, site location reviews with leasing, recruitment and onboarding of franchise partners.
Zuhrah Abdul Rahman
PROJECT MANAGER
Zuhrah runs execution: timelines, partners, sites, launches and the hundred moving parts between a signed plan and a performing store. If it is happening on the ground, it is moving through Zuhrah.
Where We Work
17 markets. One regional network.
Senior operators, consultants and project specialists across East and Southeast Asia, engaged market by market as your project requires.
