Flanagan is Motivated to Expand the Dog Day Care and Pet Boarding Franchise Nationwide
Hounds Town USA, a leading dog day care and pet boarding franchise, has promoted Rob Flanagan to CEO. He joined the franchise’s leadership team in 2021 as chief operating officer and ascended to president in 2022. Flanagan’s promotion comes hot off Hounds Town’s annual franchise convention in Charlotte, N.C., where the promotion of chief relationship officer David Martinelli to president was also announced. Flanagan brings more than two decades of franchising experience to the position.
“I love working directly with founder-led brands, and Hounds Town is no exception. There is something magical about the passion and vision that a founder brings to the table, and being able to partner with them to create something larger than ourselves is a passion of mine,” Flanagan said. “The heart of Hounds Town remains the same, but we have added systems that strategically support our ongoing expansion and focus on driving unit profitability, ultimately growing us into a nationwide brand.”
As CEO, Flanagan said his primary objectives for the pet franchise revolve around honoring the vision of co-founders Michael Gould and Jackie Bondanza to “do it for the dogs” and supporting franchisees on what he calls their “journey to freedom.”
Bondanza said the promotions of Flanagan and Martinelli are key to the brand’s strategy for growth. “The magnitude with which our brand is growing on a national scale requires specific leadership experience, a different kind than the first years of our creation,” Bondanza said. “After more than 10 years leading this company to more than 60 open locations, I knew now was the right time to transition into a founder role, allowing others with decades of franchising expertise to assume leadership and elevate the brand that much further.”
An Unexpected Franchising Journey
Flanagan’s franchising journey began when he was in graduate school and randomly picked a professor because her name was at the top of the list alphabetically. The professor’s brother was Rob Israel, founder of Doc Popcorn, and when Flanagan asked her for a recommendation for a job, she put him in touch with her brother. While working with Doc Popcorn, Flanagan said he learned the ins and outs of franchising from the ground up.
Hounds Town isn’t his first venture into pet franchising, however; Flanagan has served in leadership positions with Wag N’ Wash Natural Pet Food & Grooming. Flanagan said he believes that relentlessly focusing on unit profitability and franchisee satisfaction is the key to successfully growing a business. “While franchisees are part of a system, they are each on their own journey.”
