---
title: "Texas Chicken™ Franchisee for Malaysia, Dato’ Jaya Tan, Named IFA Franchisee of the Year"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/89938de9-e5da-4376-b51c-7f6b356cd942
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20230302_texas_chicken_franchisee_for_malaysia_dato_jaya_tan_named_ifa_franchisee_of.html
category: "Chicken"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Chicken"
published: 2023-03-02T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T20:34:04.735Z
image: https://imgs.franchising.com/brands/social/churchschicken.jpg
---

# Texas Chicken™ Franchisee for Malaysia, Dato’ Jaya Tan, Named IFA Franchisee of the Year

**TL;DR:** Dato' Jaya Tan, a Texas Chicken franchisee in Malaysia, has been named the International Franchise Association's Franchisee of the Year. The award recognizes Tan's leadership and the brand's innovation and growth in Malaysia.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2023-03-02. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20230302_texas_chicken_franchisee_for_malaysia_dato_jaya_tan_named_ifa_franchisee_of.html).*

## Story

“Franchisee of the Year recipients represent the best in franchising,” said Matthew Haller, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association. “This is the highest honor IFA awards to individual franchisees, and these local business owners exemplify the power of franchising and its countless positive contributions to communities around the world.”

Under the leadership of Dato’ Jaya JB Tan, the Texas Chicken™ brand in Malaysia has continued to play a key role in innovation and growth. Striving to provide career paths and opportunities for its team members, the franchisee has offered ongoing training and empowerment to all employees. As a result, the Texas Chicken™ learning management platform has been fully embraced and deployed to train and develop strong and effective restaurant teams.

“We are honored to receive this recognition and be named a franchisee of the year by the IFA,” said Dato’ Jaya Tan. “We could not have received this honor without the great efforts of our amazing employees and our loyal Texas Chicken™ customers across Malaysia.”

Dato’ Jaya Tan and his team have faced industry challenges head-on, looking to make changes that leave a positive impact by localizing the supply chain and embracing cultural and social responsibility and the community, which is evident in their restaurant design and product offering.

In addition to being recognized as a Franchisee of the Year by the IFA, earlier this year, Texas Chicken Malaysia earned a Gold Putra Brand Award, the country’s prestigious “People’s Choice Awards”. This honor recognizes Texas Chicken™ as a leading brand in Malaysia.

“We are so proud of Dato’ Jaya and Texas Chicken Malaysia for being a worthy candidate for the IFA Franchisee of the Year and earning the award through the positive changes and accomplishments made last year,” said Joe Guith, CEO of Cajun Operating Company, owner of the Church’s Texas Chicken® and Texas Chicken™ brands.

Born in San Antonio, TX in 1952, Church’s® is a quick-service restaurant famous for handcrafted, hand-battered fried chicken, homestyle Southern sides, and Bold Texas Flavor®.

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- IFA (company)
- Matt Haller (person)
- franchisee award (topic)
- Malaysia (location)
- Joe Guith (person)
- international franchise association (topic)
- malaysia expansion (topic)
- texas chicken (topic)

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Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20230302_texas_chicken_franchisee_for_malaysia_dato_jaya_tan_named_ifa_franchisee_of.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/89938de9-e5da-4376-b51c-7f6b356cd942).