Heidi Ganahl


Heidi Ganahl, formerly Heidi Flammang is an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, author, and elected member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents. She is the founder and former CEO of Camp Bow Wow, an international pet care franchise. In November 2016, Ganahl was elected Regent of the University of Colorado.
Ganahl is one of two statewide elected Republicans in Colorado.

Background and education

Ganahl was born in Orange County, California where she lived until she was 12, at which time her family moved to Monument, Colorado, where she attended Lewis-Palmer High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in Business from the University of Colorado Boulder, followed by a master's degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Denver. In the spring of 1994, Ganahl's husband, Bion Flammang, died in a plane crash.

Career

In her early years, Ganahl started working for advertising industry firms Chapman Warwick and Salvati Montgomery Sakoda. She then held positions in account management at DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Rhone Poulenc and founded the Maginot Group. She also launched a baby room catalog company called Nursery Works. Beginning in 2000, Ganahl launched Camp Bow Wow, which is now North America's largest and fastest-growing pet care franchise. Camp Bow Wow was acquired in August 2014 by VCA, Inc. She is also the founder and President of , a Colorado-based organization that funds and mentors social entrepreneurs with big ideas to help kids in Colorado.
In 2015, Ganahl was appointed by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to the School Safety and Youth in Crisis Committee established by Colorado Senate Bill 15-214, to study issues relating to school safety and threat prevention in public and private schools, programs and methods for identifying and monitoring students in crisis, standardized criteria for school personnel to use in assessing potential threats, and the implementation of the Claire Davis School Safety Act.
In 2019, Ganahl launched the lifestyle brand SheFactor.

Awards and Recognition

2019 Women’s Chamber of Commerce Top 25 Most Powerful Women; 2015 Parade Magazine Designing Women: 10 of the Most Amazing Female Entrepreneurs in U.S. History; 2016 Colorado Brave Leader Award; Inc 500/5000 five years running 2009-2014; Fortune Most Promising Women Entrepreneur; 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Semi-Finalist; 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist; Entrepreneur Franchise 500 seven years running 2007-2014; 2010 WPO/AmEx Open – Top 50 Fastest Growing Women-Led Companies ; 2010 #39 in Inc Magazine “Top Consumer Product and Service Companies”; 2009 Denver Business Journal’s Colorado Business Woman of the Year; 2008 Stevie Award for Top Entrepreneur and for Top Company; 2009 Top 50 Colorado Companies to Watch; 2009 Colorado Biz “One of the Top 100 Woman Owned Companies”; Entrepreneur Magazine “One of America’s Top 50 Fastest Growing Woman Led Companies”; Tech Cocktail's 15 Female Entrepreneurs You Should Know.