Olivier Pires Bajaluna of Cerca Wins Dual Honours in the 2025 Business Worldwide Magazine CEO Awards
LONDON, Oct. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 Business Worldwide Magazine CEO Awards have recognised Olivier Pires Bajaluna, CEO of Cerca, with two prestigious titles: "CEO of the Year – SaaS for Multi-Location Brand Management" and "Most Innovative CEO – Tech-Enabled Franchise Solutions."
The awards celebrate leaders whose vision and impact are reshaping their industries. Unlike many other business awards, which focus on companies as a whole, here the spotlight is on the visionary individuals at their helms. The aim is to give groundbreaking leaders the recognition they deserve, while using their examples to inspire others to achieve similar successes.
Cerca, headquartered in Paris, is revolutionising how multi-location brands and franchise networks operate. Its AI-powered SaaS platform unifies fragmented systems — from CRMs and training tools to financial reporting and communication hubs — into one seamless ecosystem. For global networks under pressure to deliver efficiency, consistency, and scalability, Cerca is proving to be a true game-changer.
Founded to solve the pain of operational silos, Cerca now supports more than 400 brands across 100+ countries, serving 300,000 users in multiple languages. The platform offers over 250 integrated features, from contract management and royalty billing to e-learning, recruitment workflows, and real-time communication. By consolidating tools and automating repetitive processes, clients report significant cost savings, stronger compliance, and improved engagement across their networks.
Bajaluna's leadership is rooted in co-construction. Rather than imposing technology, he collaborates closely with clients to design features that directly address their challenges. This philosophy has resulted in sustained customer satisfaction rates of 98% and rapid global adoption. "We believe innovation only matters when it solves real problems," he explains.
A forward-thinker, Bajaluna embraced artificial intelligence long before it became mainstream. AI capabilities are woven into Cerca's platform, powering everything from predictive analytics to automated communications. This integration not only accelerates decision-making but also amplifies the capabilities of field teams and executives alike.
Success stories highlight the impact: European retailers have reduced franchise contract times by 17%, hospitality brands have halved onboarding periods using multi-language e-learning, and food service networks have streamlined royalty billing, freeing up resources for growth. For individual operators, the benefits are equally tangible: clearer communication, easier compliance, and reduced staff turnover.
Security and sustainability underpin Cerca's growth. The company is ISO 9001 certified, operates on renewable-energy servers, and provides high-availability, API-driven infrastructure. These commitments reflect Bajaluna's broader vision of responsible, future-ready technology.
Looking ahead, Cerca plans to expand mobile capabilities, deepen AI-powered insights, and strengthen partnerships with global associations to set new industry standards. As Bajaluna puts it: "Our mission is to empower every stakeholder in a franchise network — from HQ to the frontline — with the clarity and tools they need to succeed."
To learn more about Cerca, visit: https://cerca.io/
Discover more Business Worldwide CEO Awards winners at: https://www.bwmonline.com/2025-ceo-awards-winners/
About Business Worldwide Magazine
Business Worldwide Magazine is the leading source of business and dealmaker intelligence throughout the world. Our quarterly magazine and online news portal enable an established audience of corporate dealmakers to track the latest news, stories and developments affecting the international markets, corporate finance, business strategy and changes in legislation. This readership includes CEO/CFO - Banks, Corporate Lawyers and Venture Capital/Private Equity Companies to name a few.
Contact
David Jones
Awards Department
E: david@bwmonline.com
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