LawnStarter, an on-demand maintenance service, hired Zak Cocos as vice president of growth. Cocos began his career at Indeed, where he advanced from intern to senior director of growth marketing in six years. In his time there, he increased website traffic from 80 million unique visitors per month to more than 200 million unique visitors per month.
Canopy Lawn Care hired Keith Freeman as the company’s COO and vice president of customers. Freeman brings more than 25 years of landscape industry experience, having served in sales and marketing leadership roles with TruGreen brands and invested in other residential and commercial lawn care businesses. Freeman is a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Vectorworks, a global design and BIM software developer, hired Brian Nicholson as senior landscape product specialist. Nicholson has nearly two decades of industry experience, including previously owning and operating a residential design/build firm in Denver and working for firms like studioINSITE, RNL and Wenk Associates. He has a bachelor’s in landscape horticulture with a concentration in design/construction form Colorado State University and a master’s of landscape architecture from University of Colorado-Denver. Nicholson also serves as the American Society of Landscape Architects Colorado chapter president.
Ruppert Landscape tapped Dan Trocher, former branch manager of the company’s Laytonsville, Md., landscape management branch, to run the company’s new White Marsh, Md., branch. Trocher, who Ruppert has employed for 10 years, led the Laytonsville branch for two years. John Harich, former branch manager for the Baltimore, Md., landscape management branch, will take over as branch manager of the Laytonsville branch. Damien Barber, who was hired last year as branch manager and has since undergone a training period, will lead the Baltimore branch.
Virginia Green Lawn Care named Troy Hall as commercial sales representative. Hall has been with the Richmond, Va.-based company for six years as an agronomist and the lead for the sports turf division. He has 20 years of experience in the green industry, most recently with Salisbury Country Club and Regal Chemical Co. Hall is a graduate of North Carolina State University.
