WAC Lighting promotes Becky Li to president
WAC Lighting Founder Tony Wang appointed Becky Li to president, following the retirement of former President Dirk Wald. Wang will continue his role as chairman of WAC.
“Becky has always been an integral and dedicated executive at our firm,“ said Wang. ”With her wealth of experience in senior executive roles and adept strategic planning skills, we are confident in her ability to lead. We look forward to watching Becky at the helm as we continue to prepare this company for exponential growth.”
In her new position, Li will collaborate with senior management to oversee all facets of operations, encompassing sales, marketing, product development, human resources, supply chain and IoT.
Li commented on the opportunity and said, “I am deeply thankful to Tony and Dirk for their guidance and support. I am excited about the promising future ahead with our dynamic WAC team.”
With nearly three decades of service at WAC, Li’s journey began in the accounting department, where she rose to the position of controller. Subsequently, she was named executive vice president, where she played a pivotal role in overseeing the company’s operations.
A Cum Laude graduate of Baruch College in New York City, Li brings a wealth of expertise to WAC Lighting.
Ethoscapes promotes Cavitt to COO/CFO
Ethoscapes, a landscape maintenance and installation business, promoted Jerry Cavitt to chief operating officer and chief financial officer earlier this year. In his previous role, Cavitt exhibited exceptional leadership, driving financial performance and fostering a culture of accountability and transparency. His keen insights into operational efficiency and his ability to identify growth opportunities have been instrumental in Ethoscapes’ success.
“Jerry has consistently demonstrated his commitment to Ethoscapes’ mission and values,” said CEO Manny González. “His strategic mindset, financial acumen and operational expertise make him the perfect fit for the combined COO/CFO position. I am confident that under Jerry’s leadership, Ethoscapes will continue to thrive.”
In his expanded formal role as COO/CFO, Cavitt will also oversee key business unit management aspects of Ethoscapes’ operations and finances, including financial reporting, internal cost controls and strategic systems integration. He will continue to work closely with the CEO and the Board to execute strategic initiatives and drive continued innovation in landscaping solutions. In particular, he is already leveraging technology across the platform to aggregate data which, in turn, provides essential information to drive operational efficiencies through sophisticated KPI’s and dashboards.
Cavitt expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to take on this new challenge and stated, “I am honored by the promotion, and I am excited to build upon the strong foundation and work collaboratively with our talented team to deliver exceptional value to our customers.”
PBI-Gordon adds trio of sales representatives
PBI-Gordon Corp. added Matthew Crowther, Sean Lehr and Chris Quinlan as sales representatives.
“Matthew, Sean, and Chris bring a wealth of technical knowledge to PBI-Gordon,“ said Tim Demerath, vice president of sales for PBI-Gordon. “We are thrilled to have them on our team and are confident our customers will not only benefit from their expertise but also from their ability to foster deep relationships with our partners.”
Crowther will manage all sales initiatives for golf course, sports turf, lawn care and landscape maintenance customers in the northeastern U.S. He brings more than 30 years of golf and professional turf expertise to his new role. Before joining PBI-Gordon, he was the certified golf course superintendent at Cape Cod Country Club in Falmouth, Mass. Crowther earned his Bachelor of Science degree in turfgrass management and urban horticulture from the University of Rhode Island.
Lehr will lead golf, landscape, professional lawn care and agriculture sales for PBI-Gordon customers and distributors in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas.
With more than 25 years of expertise in the turf and ornamental industry, Lehr was most recently district sales manager at Wilbur-Ellis Company and has held sales positions with Koch Turf & Ornamental, J.R. Simplot Co. and Mears Fertilizer. Lehr holds a Bachelor of Science degree in turfgrass management from Kansas State University.
Quinlan will lead sales initiatives for golf course, sports turf, lawn care and landscape maintenance customers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota.
Quinlan comes to PBI-Gordon from Profile Products, where he was a sales representative for the Illinois-based company. Quinlan holds a Bachelor of Arts in marketing from the University of St. Thomas and completed the Michigan State University turfgrass management program.
Massey Services promotes Cannon Church
Massey Services, a leader in the pest management and landscape industries, promoted Cannon Church to senior director of strategic initiatives. Church will oversee the company’s acquisition due diligence and closings, corporate space planning and Salesforce implementation.
Church began his career with Massey in 2012 when he joined the company as a commercial market and sales director. In 2017, he was promoted to director of strategic initiatives and was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system across the entire company. He also played a critical role in the development of Massey’s PCI compliance to ensure the security of the company’s payment transactions.
“During his 12 years with Massey, Cannon has consistently demonstrated his outstanding attention to detail, organization, project management and leadership abilities,” said Massey Services’ executive vice president and CFO Jean Nowry. “Cannon’s ability to lead cross-functional teams has made him a critical member of the Massey team. We congratulate him on this well-deserved promotion and his continued success at our company.”
Church graduated from Florida State University with his bachelor’s in liberal studies and earned his MBA from Rollins College, Crummer Graduate School of Business in 2007.
Singing Hills Landscape adds new president and COO
Nathan Hoffman joined the Singing Hills Landscape family as president and COO. Nathan has more than twenty years of experience in manufacturing, serving most recently as vice president of operations for Pinnacle Architectural Lighting. Prior to that he was director of operational excellence for Legrand, North America. Nathan holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut.
“We see Nathan’s skillset as a perfect match,” said CEO, Mike Leman. “Landscape construction and maintenance are essentially onsite manufacturing processes utilizing both living and non-living elements. Nathan’s organizational and process management skills will help us refine our systems to produce even greater value for our clients. More importantly, his core values align perfectly with our purpose: To open doors of opportunity for our company family and provide unparalleled landscape services.”
Singing Hills is an award-winning landscape construction and maintenance company that serves the Denver metro area, celebrating 29 years in business.
David J. Frank Landscape Contracting promotes Erik Dyba
Green industry professional Erik Dyba has been promoted to manage the David J. Frank Landscape branch in Madison, Wisc.
Dyba brings almost 30 years of green industry experience to the position. He began his career at David J. Frank in the late 1990s as a client service representative. He later moved to Colorado and successfully started and managed a full-service landscape construction company. While in Colorado, he expanded his skills in project management and learned the irrigation side of the business.
Dyba returned to the Milwaukee area eight years ago to be closer to family and rejoined David J. Frank as irrigation manager. Under his leadership the department has experienced 150 percent growth in revenue. Dyba will continue to manage the irrigation department while serving as Madison branch manager.
The company’s Madison branch, which was established in 1996, is one of six company dispatch locations in southern Wisconsin. David J. Frank is headquartered in Germantown, Wisc., and is celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2024.
Loving appoints new vice president of farming and logistics
Loving appointed Ryan McKuhen as vice president of farming and logistics. McKuhen has more than two decades of experience in the sod/turfgrass industry.
Before joining Loving, McKuhen had various roles including as an operations manager, general manager and golf course superintendent.
“The team-oriented environment at Loving is truly inspiring. It fosters a sense of belonging and motivates us to achieve the best in everything we do,” said McKuhen.
Based out of Bluffton, S.C., his role also involves travel throughout the Carolinas and Florida to oversee our farms and ensure the highest standards are met.
“Ryan McKuhen is more than just a leader; he is a visionary with a remarkable ability to blend traditional farming techniques with innovative strategies. His appointment marks a significant milestone in Loving’s journey towards agricultural excellence and sustainability,” said Mike Haynes, founder and CEO of Loving.
Marty Olinger joins TenCate Americas
TenCate, a manufacturer, distributor and installer of synthetic turf for sports and landscape applications, added Marty Olinger to the company in the role of president, sports division for its Americas operations.
“We are extremely excited to add someone with Marty’s synthetic turf experience to our team,” said Charles Dawson, CEO, sports division for TenCate Americas. “His proven track record of sales and brand development will be invaluable as we continue to create and install game-changing sports turf products across the country.”
Olinger was most recently senior vice president of sales for Tarkett Sports. He has held a number of executive management roles in the sports and consumer industries, including at Srixon Sports, Dunlop Maxfli Sports Corporation and Johnson & Johnson.
“I could not be happier about joining TenCate, the clear leader for innovation and sustainability in the synthetic turf industry,” Olinger said. “I look forward to lending my experience and skills to helping TenCate continue to expand the reach of its world-class product portfolio and its mission of creating healthier, more beautiful communities.”
Blingle! promotes industry veteran Nels Peterson
Outdoor lighting franchise Blingle! promoted of Nels Peterson to the position of vice president and brand leader. Peterson carries more than 25 years of experience in the lighting industry.
“We’re thrilled to have Nels as part of the Blingle! brand,” said Josh Skolnick, founder of Horse Power Brands. “With Nels’ extensive background in lighting, he has played a pivotal role in growing the brand, serving as a resource for our franchisees. His passion for Blingle! will continue to position us as the premier brand in the lighting industry.”
Peterson joined Blingle! in November of 2022 as the national senior director where he oversaw all field operations and national sales. In his new role, he will not only oversee all field operations, but will additionally serve as a resource for the franchisees across the nation.
In his new role, Nels will play a key role in the franchise development process. His responsibilities include approving new franchisees, guiding the onboarding process, leading franchisees through training and ongoing coaching once a franchisee opens.
“This new adventure is the next logical step for me in my career,” Peterson said. “Using my creative talents and in-depth industry experience to help build businesses of entrepreneurs across the country was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.“
Numerator Technologies name new CEO
Numerator Technologies named Taylor Turner as its new chief executive officer. Turner has experience as a leader in sales and marketing within the turf and agricultural industry.
“I am not only delighted but also proud to make this announcement, as Taylor is my youngest daughter, and when I hired her to join me, I was not prepared for the impact she would make not only internally at Numerator Technologies, but also the way she took everything with stride and took it upon herself to learn as much as possible in such a short time,” Jim Turner, the company’s founder, said.
Jim Turner will remain with the company, but change his focus to developing new products.
