Ruppert Landscape
Ruppert Landscape recently promoted Fred Key to the position of COO in the company’s landscape management division. This position has been newly created to help support the division’s current scale and future growth.
Key has over 30 years of Industry experience and has been with Ruppert for 21 years serving in a variety of positions including crewman, foreman, area manager, controller, landscape construction production manager, division administrator, branch manager, region manager, and region vice president. Key holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Salisbury State University and is a Certified Landscape Professional. In 2009, he received one of the company’s top honors, the Clyde Vadner Merit Award, which is presented to the individual who has demonstrated consistent hard work and dedication leading to exceptional contributions to the organization. In 2019, Key graduated from Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management (OPM) program, completing a significant multi-year investment in his management education.
In his new role, Key will continue to oversee the Northern VA, NC, and Atlanta regions and will now also oversee the Central VA region, working closely with the region managers to influence operational decisions to help better serve customers and team members. In addition, he will now be working with the company’s business development team to help support division-wide sales efforts.
Dave Sharry has been promoted to the position of region manager in the company’s landscape management division. In this capacity, he will oversee landscape management operations in the company’s Central VA region. Sharry has been with the company for over 11 years, has over 30 years of Industry experience and is a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran. In his first year at Ruppert, he was recognized with the company’s Branch Impact Award for his outstanding dedication and contributions to the organization. In 2018, the original Richmond branch split into North and South locations to accommodate growth in the region, and as the newly appointed Richmond South branch manager, Sharry played an integral role in supporting a smooth and profitable transition.
Rob Groves has been appointed branch manager in Richmond South. In this role, he will be responsible for the overall welfare of the branch, including the safety and development of his team, strategic planning and budgeting, training, customer service, and day-to-day operations. Groves has been with the company for over 15 years and holds a degree in ornamental horticulture from Pennsylvania College of Technology. He began his career at Ruppert as an enhancement field manager in the Gainesville branch, worked his way up to area manager, associate branch manager, and became branch manager in Richmond North in 2018. He led the branch until last year when he explored other opportunities within the company, supporting division IT projects and irrigation operations in the region, but embraced the opportunity to return to the branch manager role.
PBI-Gordon
PBI-Gordon Corporation announces that Brent Flander has joined the company as national account manager. Conrad Pannkuk was promoted to sales representative for KS, MS, and AR.
Brent Flander
As national account manager, Flander will manage national accounts in the turf and ornamental markets of golf, landscape, and professional lawn care. Prior to joining PBI-Gordon, Flander spent many years as a senior field sales representative at Bayer Crop Science. Before that, Flander was an agronomist at Heartland Cooperative. Flander holds a Bachelor of Science in agronomy from Iowa State University.
Conrad Pannkuk
In his new role as sales representative, Pannkuk will be responsible for PBI-Gordon product sales to golf course and turfgrass management customers in KS, MO, and AR. Pannkuk joined PBI-Gordon in January 2022 as a sales support representative. Before that, he spent more than eight years in the golf course maintenance industry. Pannkuk earned his Bachelor of Science in horticulture and turfgrass management from Iowa State University.
Tivoli Lighting
Tivoli Lighting has appointed Mark Rorrison as its Director of Sales. He is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and overseeing the company’s overall sales strategy. Prior to joining Tivoli, Rorrison gained extensive experience and skills in interior design application lighting and outdoor architectural lighting, and LED and solid-state lighting. He has been involved in project management, product marketing, quotations, negotiations, customer service, and technical support. Throughout his career, Rorrison has demonstrated strong national account management skills with his ability to build long-term client relationships. His experience includes working with Acuity Brands / Hydrel, Delray Lighting and Lusive Décor.
Mecalac
Mecalac North America has hired Amer Ascic as after sales manager and Diana Lacaire as controller. In their respective roles, Ascic and Lacaire will help streamline processes both internally and externally.
Ascic spent more than 20 years working at Caterpillar dealers across the U.S. and Europe in a wide range of positions, providing a broad base of knowledge and understanding of compact equipment and its applications. He also worked as a service manager for a Mecalac dealer in the northeast U.S. In his new role, Ascic’s primary responsibility is providing after-sales support to Mecalac dealers, such as assessing their needs for training, support, and other resources.
Lacaire brings more than 30 years of accounting experience to her new role as controller, offering valuable insight into streamlining internal processes and analyzing business data. In her previous role, Lacaire successfully oversaw the integration of three companies into one unit, streamlining and standardizing processes and rules.
Acclaim Lighting
Acclaim Lighting has appointed Dorel Baila as its Midwest Regional Sales Manager. He is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and overseeing the company’s sales strategy in midwestern U.S., southern FL, and Puerto Rico.
Arborjet | Ecologel
Arborjet | Ecologel has announced that Matt Campbell has taken on the role of Southeast Regional Technical Manager. His territory will include NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, TN, MS, LA, and AR. Campbell has spent his professional career producing products and designing agronomic programs for companies within the Green Industry, supplying services in turf, landscape, erosion control, athletic field, and green roof technologies in markets throughout the U.S. He previously owned and operated a sod farm and national erosion company in KS where he later joined SiteOne Landscape Supply Company managing branches in the St. Louis, MO, and Atlanta, GA regions. He went on to Join BWI Companies, where for the past four years he has helped build the Turf, LCO, Golf and Pest markets in the North Georgia area.
Envu Turf & Ornamentals
Envu Turf & Ornamentals has named Tra Huddleston as head of marketing. Huddleston is an Industry veteran with extensive experience forming partnerships with customers and delivering innovative solutions to solve their toughest problems. Huddleston most recently served as a product manager for Envu Turf & Ornamentals. Previously, he spent more than 15 years with Nufarm in various roles across marketing, product management, and customer experience.
