San Francisco-based Flynn Holdings has two principal businesses: Flynn Group and Flynn Properties.
Founded in 1999, Flynn Group is the largest franchise operator in the world, and the third largest operator of restaurants, after only Starbucks and Chipotle, in the United States. Flynn Group owns and operates more than 2,700 restaurants and fitness clubs across Applebee’s, Arby’s, Taco Bell, Panera, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, and Planet Fitness brands spanning 44 states, Australia, and New Zealand, generating $4.7 billion in sales and employing more than 75,000 people.
Flynn Properties Inc. has substantial experience in commercial and hospitality real estate investment. Founded in 1994 and based in San Francisco, CA, Flynn Properties has owned in excess of 3 million square feet of tech-oriented office buildings on the West Coast. In addition to 114 premium-branded select service and extended stay hotels, Flynn Properties’ hospitality investments also include the luxury resorts Esperanza and the Chileno Bay Resort, both located in Los Cabos, Mexico, the Carneros Resort and Solage, both located in the Napa Valley, the Hotel Madeline in Telluride, and the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco.
Our Team
Greg Flynn
President and CEO
Greg Flynn
President and CEOGreg Flynn is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Flynn Group and Flynn Properties. With 2,700+ Applebee’s, Taco Bells, Paneras, Arby’s, Pizza Huts, Wendy’s and Planet Fitness units generating $4.7+ billion in sales and employing 75,000+ people in 44 states and 3 countries, Flynn Group is the largest franchise operator in the world. Flynn Properties invests in commercial real estate and has owned and managed more than 3 million square feet since its founding in 1994; it also owns 121 hotels including the luxury resorts Esperanza and Chileno Bay, both located in Los Cabos, Mexico, the Carneros Resort and Solage, both located in the Napa Valley, the Hotel Madeline in Telluride, and the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco.
Greg has been recognized as one of the Bay Area’s Most Admired CEOs by the San Francisco Business Times, as Restaurant Leader of the Year by Restaurant Business Magazine, as Operator of the Year by Nation’s Restaurant News, as Dealmaker of the Year by the Franchise Times, and as an Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young. He has been named Applebee’s Franchisee of the Year and Operator of the Year five times each, including in 2023, and was named Franchisee of the Year for Arby’s in 2021, Wendy’s in 2022, and Pizza Hut in 2023.
Greg has an AB Magna Cum Laude from Brown University (where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year), an MA in American History from Yale University, an MBA from the Stanford GSB, and an honorary Doctorate of Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America. He serves on the boards of the National Restaurant Association and the International Franchise Association. He also serves on the Stanford GSB Advisory Council, the Brown University Advisory Council for the College, the Applebee’s Franchise Business Council, and as a Yale GSAS Advisor. He is a past chairman of the Golden Gate Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization, a past Member of the Brown University President’s Leadership Council, and a past member of the Board of the Exploratorium.
Lorin M. Cortina
Executive Vice President
Lorin M. Cortina
Executive Vice PresidentLorin Cortina serves as EVP and CFO of Flynn Restaurant Group and Flynn Properties. He joined Flynn Holdings in 2001 to oversee capital markets, corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, financial planning and accounting, and restaurant development activities. Prior to joining FRG, Lorin was a VP, Investments for Starwood Financial, Inc. and VP, Acquisitions and AVP, Capital Markets at TriNet Corporate Realty Trust, Inc. Lorin also worked as a consultant with PWC and Deloitte & Touche. Lorin has held senior management positions involved in corporate finance, capital markets and M&A activities, and has successfully led the investment and related capital raise in transactions totaling over several billion dollars in value. Lorin received a B.A. in Business/Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Chad Arkoff
Principal
Chad Arkoff
PrincipalChad Arkoff joined the firm in 2011 and serves as a Principal and oversees the firm’s real estate practice. He is involved in all aspects of new and existing investments across acquisitions, asset management, lease transactions, dispositions, partnership matters and capital market activities. Chad has been actively involved in more than $3 billion of investment, sale and financing transactions while at Flynn Properties alone. His experience prior to joining Flynn Holdings includes various investment roles within real estate and non-real estate private equity. Chad began his career in the investment banking division of UBS Investment Bank in New York. He received a B.S. in Economics from Lehigh University and an M.B.A from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Chad serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco.
Julie Purnell
Senior Director of Asset Management
Julie Purnell
Senior Director of Asset ManagementJulie Purnell joined the firm in 2021 from CBRE Hotels Advisory, where she was an Executive Vice President. As Senior Director of Asset Management at FPI, she has primary day-to-day responsibility for overseeing the Portfolio. Julie brings 30 years of hospitality industry experience from the principal, operator and franchisor perspective from her diverse background in strategic planning, acquisitions, real estate development, adaptive re-use conversions, management contracts, business development and asset value enhancement. Prior to CBRE, she held acquisition and development leadership roles at hotel companies including Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Loews Hotels, Marriott International, Denihan Investments and Destination Hotels. Julie has been responsible for significantly expanding property portfolios within these hotel companies through sourcing opportunities, negotiating agreements and closing transactions. Julie is an active member of HAMA (Hotel Asset Managers Association) and graduated cum laude from Washington State University with a B.A. degree from the School of Hospitality Business Management.
Diem Nguyen
Senior Director of Finance
Diem Nguyen
Senior Director of FinanceDiem Nguyen joined Flynn Properties in 2021 and serves as Director of Finance. In this role, she has primary responsibility for portfolio reporting and oversees the financial and accounting operations. Prior to joining Flynn Properties, Diem was Senior Vice President of Fund Accounting at Carmel Partners, where she oversaw the fund reporting and audit processes. Diem also worked at Rockwood Capital and PricewaterhouseCoopers in their real estate audit division. Diem is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. degree in communications and a minor in accounting.
Gabriele Lawrence
Senior Director of Construction and Capital Projects
Gabriele Lawrence
Senior Director of Construction and Capital ProjectsGabriele Lawrence joined the firm in 2022 and leads all construction and capital projects activities. Gabriele brings over 25 years of full scope construction and capital projects experience from both the owner and brand perspectives in luxury, lifestyle, full service and select service hospitality properties. She has held senior roles in development, renovation construction, project management and strategic planning. Prior to Flynn Properties, she was with Chatham Lodging Trust where she was the Director of Project Management. Before that, she worked both in the US and throughout Europe for Sage Hospitality, KSL Resorts, Ty Warner Hotels & Resorts, The Walt Disney Company, ACCOR, and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Gabriele graduated from Pepperdine University with a M.B.A as well as University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a B.S. in Hotel Management.
