Stanley Black & Decker new COO and executive vice president

Chris Nelson will join Stanley Black & Decker — parent company of Dewalt, MTD Holdings and more —as chief operating officer of the company, and executive vice president and president of tools and outdoor, effective June 14.

Nelson will report to Donald Allan Jr., president and CEO of Stanley Black & Decker. He will assume the role from Robert Raff and John Wyatt, acting co-presidents. Raff will continue to serve as chief commercial officer of tools and outdoor and Wyatt will become senior vice president of strategy and integration.

Most recently, Nelson served as president of Carrier’s HVAC segment, where he led the global commercial and residential product and service portfolio. He was also responsible for Carrier’s HVAC joint venture partnerships worldwide.

Before joining Carrier, Nelson held leadership roles with the U.S. Army, Johnson & Johnson and McKinsey & Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in business from Cornell University.

Jeremy Clayton joins Ruppert as director of project management

No. 11 on the 2022 LM150 list, Ruppert Landscape adds Jeremy Clayton as director of project management in the company’s landscape construction division.

Ruppert said he will work with the company’s construction branches to create more continuity across project management practices, helping to improve training and refine processes.

Clayton joins Ruppert following six years at another leading landscaping firm where he led the project management team. He also ran a landscaping business in Montgomery County, Maryland for 14 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Towson University and earned his MBA from the University of Maryland.

Ruppert also added Eric Scheinerman as its chief financial officer. 

He will plan, implement, manage and control all financial-related activities of the company. He will also serve on Ruppert’s executive committee and assist the committee in executing the company’s strategic goals.

He brings more than 30 years of experience spanning the technology, life sciences, manufacturing and travel industries and helped grow complex enterprises of all sizes and develop high-performance teams. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Pflum promoted at Grunder Landscaping

Grunder Landscaping Co. promoted Chief Operating Officer Seth Pflum to its president, effective May 1, 2023.

In his most recent role as COO, Pflum led the company through rapid growth and expansion. Under his leadership, the company added 20 new team members and has grown revenue by 213 percent from $4.5M annually in 2020 to $9.6M annually in 2022. Before being promoted to COO, he held roles in sales and operations during his more than 10 years with the company.

“In the three years that Seth has been at the helm of our operations, Grunder Landscaping has more than doubled in revenue and created many opportunities for new people to join our team, and for those already on our team to move into new roles,” said Marty Grunder, founder and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Co. “Seth’s focus on creating opportunities for team members, investing time and energy into the leaders around him, and finding the best possible fit for each team member’s unique skills has been critical to our success. He makes it easy for our team to focus on what they do best: creating and maintaining beautiful landscapes.”

Grunder Landscaping Co. founder, Marty Grunder most recently held the role of president. Grunder is also the president and CEO green industry coaching and education firm, The Grow Group. He will remain the company’s chief executive officer and will continue to be involved in the business daily. The company said Grunder will oversee business development, team member training and assist the sales team in generating new leads and closing sales, while Pflum will continue to focus on the company’s operations.

Husqvarna appoints CEO

Husqvarna’s board of directors appointed Pavel Hajman as group CEO. Hajman has served as acting CEO since December 2022.

“His long experience and his knowledge of the group combined with his leadership skills will continue the transformation journey which the company has already started,” said Tom Johnstone, chairman of Husqvarna’s board of directors.

He has been a part of the group management team since 2014. He served as president of Husqvarna’s forest and garden division, senior vice president of operations development and senior vice president of information technology. Before joining Husqvarna Group, he held various positions within Seco Tools and Assa Abloy in Europe and Asia.

Harvest Landscapes adds client relationship manager

Mindy Dent, CMCA, AMS, joins Harvest Landscape Enterprises, No. 64 on the 2022 LM150 list as a client relationship manager. Harvest Landscape said this is a newly-created position. She will work to build strong relationships with clients and serve as an advocate for concerns from Harvest’s board of directors and management team.

PBI-Gordon hires new senior director of national accounts and sales rep

PBI-Gordon recently added Matt Steward as senior director of national accounts and Patrick Bastron as a sales representative for Illinois and Indiana.

As senior director of national accounts, Steward will lead the national accounts team in all aspects of account management in the turf and ornamental markets. As an active member of the sales leadership team, he will develop and implement strategic business plans to ensure alignment with customer and company objectives. Additionally, Steward will serve as a mentor and coach for sales team members.

Before joining PBI-Gordon, Steward was a senior sales manager at Almaco. Prior to that, he served as national sales manager and strategic account manager at BASF. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Iowa State University.

Baston will be responsible for PBI-Gordon product sales to turfgrass management customers in Illinois and Indiana. He will also identify new business opportunities to achieve strategic goals and objectives within his sales territory.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Wisconsin.

Tyner Tew joins Bland Landscaping

Bland Landscaping, No. 61 on the 2022 LM150 l list, adds Tyner Tew as its vice president of sales.

Tew joins with more than 18 year’s experience in the green industry and has a bachelor’s degree in landscape design and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from North Carolina State University.

“Since my college days at North Carolina State University in the early 2000s, the Bland name has been synonymous with Commercial Landscape Quality,” he said in a post on LinkedIn. “I look forward to getting further integrated into the organization and leading the charge and collaborating with a very talented group of people.”

Steve Jedrejek retires from Prime Source, Matt Wilkinson joins

Prime Source recently added Matt Wilkinson as proprietary products manager following Steve Jedrzejek’s retirement after more than 40 years in various roles in the turf and ornamental industries. Jedrzejek had been with the company since 2018.

Wilkinson joins the company with nearly 30 years of experience in the green industry with previous roles in agronomy, turf and ornamental product sales and portfolio development.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in horticulture, turf and landscape management from Oregon State University and currently resides in Denver, Colo.

Isuzu appoints new director of EV strategies, promotes two

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America appoints Matthew Mesick as the company’s first director of electric vehicle strategies. This comes just two months after the company announced that its first all-electric truck for the U.S. and Canadian markets will begin production late in the first quarter of 2024.

Mesick has been with Isuzu Commercial Truck of America for 11 years and held both service and sales positions. Most recently, he served as director of Western regional operations.

The company announced two other promotions. These include:

• Ed Crawford to the role of assistant vice president of sales operations. Crawford has been with Isuzu for over 24 years.
• Brian Tabel to the role of assistant vice president of marketing. In his 28 years with Isuzu, he worked in field service and sales positions and has led the marketing team for almost 14 years. Most recently, Tabel became the first representative of an import chassis brand appointed to the board of NTEA, the association for the work truck industry.

Got news? Let us know!

Have news about your company’s recent hirings or promotions? Send it to Editor Christina Herrick at cherrick@northcoastmedia.net, and we’ll feature it in an upcoming People on the Move.