Australia’s own coffee chain The Coffee Club has appointed James Nixon-Smith has its chief executive officer.

After spending the past six years as general manager of national retail franchise Batter World, Nixon-Smith will be focussing on achieving operation excellence across the business.

“Over the next five years, I expect to double our store presence so that, by 2015, there will be 500 of The Coffee Club cafés in more than 15 countries around the world,” Nixon-Smith said.

“My first priorities will be to focus on service delivery to support a rapidly expanding network, from our café staff to our management team, and investing heavily into brand acquisition along with aggressive property selection of the business.”

In the remainder of 2010, The Coffee Club is set to open 20 new stores, including its first café in New Caledonia and third First Avenue store in Surfers Paradise.