A 22-year-old wahine Māori has achieved a significant milestone in her career, becoming a Pizza Hut franchisee at just 22 years old. Caitlyn Lewin, of Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri and Rangitāne o Wairau descent, is now integrating te ao Māori into her business, one slice at a time.
Lewin’s journey began at the age of 15, when she applied for a job at Pizza Hut without a CV. Instead, she handed in a handwritten note at the library. “It was my first ever job application. I didn’t have a CV, so I just wrote something random and took it in,” she recalls. “I got the interview, got the job, and started washing dishes three days a week.”
Today, Lewin owns a Pizza Hut store in Tawa, Wellington. She worked her way up the ranks, becoming a duty manager at just 17 while still in high school, balancing 40-hour work weeks alongside her commitment to representing New Zealand in softball. “It was pretty full on, but I enjoy staying busy, so it didn’t bother me too much,” she says.
By the time she turned 19, Lewin had become a store manager. “One day, my boss called me and said, ‘Can you start in Newtown next week? The manager just quit.’ I said, ‘You got it, boss, I’m in there.’”
When Lewin expressed concerns about her career progression to an area manager, they introduced her to potential business partner Frank Huang. “We collaborated, and now we’re business partners,” she says.
Now, as a franchisee, Lewin admits the process of owning a business was challenging but rewarding. “It’s that classic story of working your way up. I didn’t really have expectations; I had no idea what I was doing. But I built strong relationships with people in the Pizza Hut world.”
Lewin believes she is the first Māori woman to own a Pizza Hut franchise. “It’s pretty cool. I’ll definitely put that on my CV,” she says with pride.
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