Mary Kennedy Thompson

Mary Kennedy Thompson currently serves as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Neighborly.  She oversees the ongoing business operations within Neighborly (formerly Dwyer Group), an international holding company comprised of 22 service brands and over 3700 franchisees. Mary served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a logistics officer.  Helping Veterans get into small business ownership has been a passion of hers for more than 25 years. Mary is the longest serving member of the VetFran Board of Directors, of which she is also a past Chair. In 2011, she led the VetFran partnership with the then-First Lady Michelle Obama’s office’s develop Operation Enduring Opportunity. The two-year effort resulted in more than 155,000 veterans being hired into franchising and 6,000 brought into small business opportunities with discounts and mentoring. Since 1991, Neighborly has hired more than 325 Veterans into small business ownership and has provided $2.5 million in discounts and during her tenure leading VetFran, the number of franchise companies offering Veterans discounts doubled, and she has received multiple national awards for her work empowering Veterans and women.