Key Takeaways
- • The Montclair Group, a boutique investment bank specializing in franchising, services, consumer, and multi-unit sectors, has appointed Boris Katsnelson as Managing Director, effective August 6, 2026.
- • Katsnelson brings 25+ years of combined investment banking, private equity, and operating experience, including roles at Wachovia Securities and Credit Suisse in investment banking, and the Anschutz Investment Company in private equity.
- • His operational background includes CEO tenure at SpeedPro, a business services franchisor where he drove systemwide sales and unit growth, plus franchisee operations in Primrose School, College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving, and multiple other franchise and consumer businesses.
- • The hire strengthens Montclair's advisory team with a professional who has operated across all transactional roles—advisor, CEO, and owner-operator—providing clients with integrated perspective on deal structuring and execution in the franchising sector.
Summary
The Montclair Group announced the appointment of Boris Katsnelson as Managing Director on August 6, 2026, reinforcing its bench strength in boutique M&A advisory services for franchise-focused businesses. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Montclair specializes in the franchising, services, consumer, and multi-unit sectors, positioning itself as a specialized advisor to franchisors and franchisees navigating complex transactions.
Katsnelson's career trajectory spans three distinct yet interconnected domains critical to franchise advisory work. He began in institutional investment banking roles at Wachovia Securities and Credit Suisse before transitioning to private equity with the Anschutz Investment Company, where he developed operational acumen. His most substantive experience comes from hands-on franchise and consumer business leadership: he served as CEO of SpeedPro, a business services franchisor, where he engineered measurable growth in both systemwide sales and unit economics. He subsequently operated as a franchisee in two separate brands—Primrose School and College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving—and acquired and exited additional franchise and consumer properties, creating a rare depth of operator experience.
John Goldasich, Founder and Managing Partner at Montclair, emphasized the strategic value of Katsnelson's multi-stakeholder perspective, stating: "Few professionals in this space have sat on every side of the table the way he has — as advisor, as CEO, and as an owner-operator." This cross-functional background distinguishes Katsnelson from traditional M&A bankers and positions him to counsel both buyers and sellers with practical understanding of execution and integration risks endemic to franchise system transactions.
The appointment aligns with Montclair's stated strategy to build its team around "senior bankers with genuine depth in the sectors we serve," according to Co-Founder and Partner Gavin McKinney. Katsnelson's advisory work in recent years, counseling franchisors and franchisees on M&A matters, bridges his operational experience directly into the advisory mandate, suggesting the firm is expanding capacity to serve the fragmented but active franchise M&A market.
Katsnelson's career trajectory spans three distinct yet interconnected domains critical to franchise advisory work. He began in institutional investment banking roles at Wachovia Securities and Credit Suisse before transitioning to private equity with the Anschutz Investment Company, where he developed operational acumen. His most substantive experience comes from hands-on franchise and consumer business leadership: he served as CEO of SpeedPro, a business services franchisor, where he engineered measurable growth in both systemwide sales and unit economics. He subsequently operated as a franchisee in two separate brands—Primrose School and College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving—and acquired and exited additional franchise and consumer properties, creating a rare depth of operator experience.
John Goldasich, Founder and Managing Partner at Montclair, emphasized the strategic value of Katsnelson's multi-stakeholder perspective, stating: "Few professionals in this space have sat on every side of the table the way he has — as advisor, as CEO, and as an owner-operator." This cross-functional background distinguishes Katsnelson from traditional M&A bankers and positions him to counsel both buyers and sellers with practical understanding of execution and integration risks endemic to franchise system transactions.
The appointment aligns with Montclair's stated strategy to build its team around "senior bankers with genuine depth in the sectors we serve," according to Co-Founder and Partner Gavin McKinney. Katsnelson's advisory work in recent years, counseling franchisors and franchisees on M&A matters, bridges his operational experience directly into the advisory mandate, suggesting the firm is expanding capacity to serve the fragmented but active franchise M&A market.
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