Interview with Christianna Denelsbeck, Chief Financial Officer of Landscape Workshop
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Release Date: 10/16/2024
Interview with Bradley Hill, Director of Operations at Par 3 Landscape Management
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Brad started his first landscape business at age 8 with his older brother. They started in residential landscape maintenance with a route of 10 homes. After 4 years of building the business, they landed their first commercial accounts maintaining 2 hospital campuses in Denver, CO. He ran his company for a total of 10 years and sold the company at the age of 18. To broaden his life experience and serve people in a foreign country, Brad took two years off from college and work to serve as a missionary for his church in Brazil. During this time, he learned Portuguese and developed his leadership...
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Interview with Jennifer Lemcke, Chief Executive Officer at Weed Man-Mosquito Hero-TurfBot
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Jennifer Lemcke brings over 30 years of experience to her leadership role at Weed Man, where she first began her career as a manager trainee in Ottawa in 1993. Over the years, Jennifer has worked in every department within the company, gaining hands-on knowledge and a deep understanding of the lawn care industry. Her journey with Weed Man saw her rise from General Manager of Weed Man Ottawa, where she helped grow the franchise revenue from $200,000 to $2 million in five years, to a key player in the company’s expansion across North America. Her leadership played a crucial role in launching...
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Interview with Rick Grimes, VP of Operations at Wire Network
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Rick Grimes is a 30-year technology professional, with deep experience in Marketing, Operations, and Data Analysis. He has held leadership positions at companies of all sizes, ranging from some of the biggest companies in the world, such as Microsoft and Yahoo, to small startups that were still figuring out what to call themselves. Rick caught the AI bug about two years ago and has been using, teaching, and evangelizing AI ever since. He has taught hundreds of people how to incorporate AI into both their professional and personal workflows to create efficiencies and enable new capabilities. He...
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Interview with Brant Wichman, CEO and Owner of Customer Insight LLC and Cutting Edge Landscapes LLC
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
This is Brant Wichman who has run a successful high-end landscape construction company in Lincoln Nebraska for the past 14 years. As a contractor he interacted with customers each and every day and kept thinking that there has to be a way to help contractors know their client better before they step foot on their property. A reverse Angie, a reverse BBB.... something. One day he took a leap of faith and took the blue collar mentality to tech country and started to develop this app for contractors. A few years later Customer Insight NOW was born. A fast and easy-to-use software that...
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Interview with Autumn Conover, Regional Manager of Southern California Region at Gothic Landscape
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
An experienced operational leader with a proven track record in the horticulture and arboriculture industries, I am passionate about plants, trees, and fostering growth—both for nature and the people I work with. Over the years, I have developed expertise in team building, negotiation, budgeting, plant identification, and operations management, all of which have contributed to my success in leading diverse teams. My leadership is centered around creating collaborative, high-performing environments that drive results and adapt seamlessly to change. I find great satisfaction in helping others...
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Interview with Michael Ding, Founder & CEO of Bobyard
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Michael Ding, a Stanford-trained computer science and AI researcher, founded Bobyard to tackle critical challenges in the landscape construction industry. During his time in school, Michael identified a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and one of the most essential yet overlooked sectors in construction. Driven by his vision, he decided to drop out of Stanford to found Bobyard, bringing together a world-class team of AI engineers and industry veterans. Together, they’re building solutions to help contractors work smarter, faster, and more efficiently.
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Interview with James Lawrence, Owner of Lawrence Landscape Group
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
James Lawrence, at just 25 years old, has successfully grown his business from the ground up, achieving remarkable growth over the past four years. His approach to leadership emphasizes building strong systems and processes, but above all, fostering a culture where people come first. For James, the most fulfilling aspect of his work is witnessing his team members grow within the company, accomplishing goals they once considered out of reach — both personally and for their families. With a clear vision, James is dedicated to creating a company known for its exceptional quality and as a...
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Interview with Norman Ripper, Owner of Helping Hand Lawn Care, LLC
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Norman Ripper is a dedicated entrepreneur and former military professional with a background in Chinese Mandarin. After serving six years in the military, Norman returned to Florida and founded Helping Hand Lawn Care in 2003. Over the past two decades, he has grown the company from a door-to-door residential mowing service into a thriving business with 83 employees, achieving significant growth in the last six years. In 2024, Norman marked a major milestone with the acquisition of Protex, a local Fertilization & Pest Control business, further expanding Helping Hand Lawn Care’s offerings....
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Interview with Brian Hamilton, Chairman of LiveSwitch | Founder of Sageworks | Founder of Brian Hamilton Foundation and Inmates to Entrepreneurs
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Brian Hamilton is one of America’s most successful entrepreneurs and a leading expert on entrepreneurship. He is the founder of Sageworks, America’s first fintech company, which helped millions of business owners translate complex financial information. The company was sold in 2018 to a leading private equity firm and now operates as "Abrigo." In 2021, Brian invested in LiveSwitch and expanded its operations in the United States. Brian is also founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, an international program dedicated to teaching people with criminal records how to start their own businesses....
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Interview with Chris Ryon (Controller of Landscape Services) and Michael Bingham (VP of Landscape Operations) of The Budd Group
The Commercial Landscaper Podcast
Chris Ryon Chris Ryon has been dedicated to the service industry since the age of 15. Growing up around Publix Supermarkets alongside his father, he developed a deep love for serving people. He graduated from USC Upstate with a degree in Accounting and has been a "numbers guy" ever since. Chris joined The Budd Group in 2019 as a Regional Field Accountant in the janitorial division for the South Carolina region. In 2021, with The Budd Group’s increased investment in the landscape division to support growth, he transitioned to the role of Landscape Accounting Manager. This year, he was...
info_outlineChristianna holds the title of Chief Financial Officer for Landscape Workshop. Landscape Workshop is a commercial landscaping company headquartered in Birmingham, AL and was listed as number 27 on Lawn and Landscape's most recent Top 100 list, with projected revenue of over $145M for 2024. Christianna has been with Landscape Workshop since 2015. She has also worked for M&T bank in Buffalo, New York.
Christianna received a BS in Economics and Business Administration from Birmingham-Southern College. Christianna Chairs the Rotaract Club of Birmingham's Foundation Board and enjoys running, watching sports (Roll Tide and Go Bills), and most of all spending time with her husband, Cole and two children Harlow (3) and Jack (1).