Greg Flynn

Greg 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

Lorin Cortina serves as EVP and CFO of Flynn Restaurant Group and Flynn Properties. He joined the firm 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 BA in Business/Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an MBA. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Chad Arkoff

Chad Arkoff joined the firm in 2011. He serves as a Principal and oversees the firm’s real estate practice. Chad is involved in all aspects of new and existing investments across acquisitions, asset management, lease transactions, dispositions, partnership matters and capital market activities. He has been actively involved in more than $4.5 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 BS in Economics from Lehigh University and an MBA 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.

Colin Giannini

Colin Giannini focuses on transactional activity across Flynn Properties’ real estate portfolio, including acquisitions, financings and asset management initiatives. Prior to joining the firm, Colin was on the acquisitions team at RFR Holding LLC, where he focused on office, retail, and multifamily assets in markets throughout the United States. His previous experience includes serving on the real estate private equity team at Franklin Templeton, specializing in acquisitions and asset management for their value-add fund. Colin holds a BS in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University, where he also double minored in Real Estate and Business. Colin was a competitive lightweight rower throughout college and now enjoys competing in Ironman triathlons.

Shivan Gordhan

Shivan Gordhan serves as a Project Manager within the Construction and Capital Projects Department at Flynn Properties. Shivan grew up in the hospitality industry and has worked on both select service hotels and full service resorts in his previous roles. Prior to joining Flynn Properties, Shivan served as a Senior Design and Construction Coordinator at Davidson Hospitality Group working on full service resorts in the Florida Keys, Northwest region, and Hawaii. Before that, Shivan served as Development Associate for Platinum Companies, project managing new construction and renovation projects in the select service space. Shivan holds a BA degree in Supply Chain Management, Marketing, and Hospitality Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and an MBA in Hospitality from Johnson and Wales University in North Miami.

Ryan Harrington

Ryan Harrington leads all construction and capital project activities at Flynn Properties. Ryan has more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, with a focus on design, renovation, and construction. He has experience as a General Contractor as well as an Owner’s Representative in resort, luxury, full service, and select service properties. Prior to joining the firm, Ryan served as Senior Director of Design and Construction at Davidson Hospitality where he focused on full service properties ranging from historic buildings to modern convention centers. Before that, Ryan served as Vice President of Design and Construction for Chatham Lodging Trust, leading the renovation and construction efforts of 180 select and full service hotels. Ryan began his career working as an Onsite Supervisor for a General Contractor and has since worked his way through every level of the construction and renovation field.

Steven Lira

Steven Lira serves as a Controller at Flynn Properties. Steven joined the firm with 10+ years of hospitality industry experience. Prior to Flynn Properties, Steven was with Viceroy Hotels’ corporate finance/accounting team as a Senior Staff Accountant, and also held the roles of Accounting Manager and Director of Corporate Accounting over a 7-year period.  Previously, he was with Starwood Hotels as a Staff Accountant in an on-property finance/accounting role at the W Hotels Brand, where he ultimately joined the opening team of the W Hollywood. At Flynn Properties, Steven manages the full scope of ownership financial transactions for the firm’s portfolio in addition to contributing to the enhancement of the overall accounting function. Steven holds a BA degree from the University of California, Los Angeles where he majored in Economics.

Diem Nguyen

Diem Nguyen joined Flynn Properties in 2021 and serves as Senior Vice President of Finance & Accounting. 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 BA degree in communications and a minor in accounting.

Lauren Phelps

Lauren Phelps serves as a Director and focuses on asset management of the firm’s holdings. Prior to joining FPI, she played various strategic advisory roles in the hospitality industry with a track record of value-add projects in hotel investing, management, and operations. She was the Director of Strategy for Broadreach Capital Partners, leading key initiatives across their portfolio of independent hotels. In that role, she opened and later was the General Manager of the Ameswell, a 255-room full-service independent hotel in Mountain View, CA. Prior to Broadreach, Lauren executed on strategic projects across platforms and portfolios at KSL. Prior to her work in hospitality, she helped build and scale AI inside JP Morgan Chase, as well as for large financial services clients as a strategy consultant at PwC. Lauren graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UNC Chapel Hill and earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Julie Purnell

Julie Purnell joined the firm in 2021 from CBRE Hotels Advisory, where she was an Executive Vice President. As Senior Vice President 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 BA degree from the School of Hospitality Business Management.

Alex Schultz

Alex Schultz serves as Director of Finance & Accounting and is responsible for the financial reporting and treasury functions of the firms various select service hotel portfolios. Before joining Flynn Properties, Alex was Manager, Fund Controller at Carta, overseeing a team of accounts to administrate venture capital investment funds. His previous experience includes working as a Fund Controller at Carmel Partners and as an audit Senior at PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Alex is a Chartered Professional Accountant with a BSc in Economics from the University of Victoria.

Blair Williams

Blair Williams serves as a Director and is responsible for maximizing portfolio and asset performance. Prior to joining Flynn Properties, Blair gained experience at Starwood Capital, specializing in acquisitions in the Western U.S. region. She also worked at Gap Inc. in global real estate strategy and data analytics, and at PricewaterhouseCoopers in real estate audit, particularly concentrated within the hospitality industry. Beyond her professional endeavors, Blair actively engages in the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association, volunteers with the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco NextGen Council, and continues to play competitive lacrosse and tennis for the Olympic Club.  Blair holds a BA with high honors in economics and accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley Haas, and a CPA in the state of California.