Weed Man promotes within

On the heels of a record-breaking growth year for Weed Man, Mike Richard, former national marketing director, has been named chief operating officer (COO).

Over the last 15 years, Richard has helped franchisees grow exponentially in their marketing pursuits through the National Sales Analysis Program, which includes weekly conference calls, regular macro sales summaries, and franchise system benchmarks.

Mike Richard

Prior to his role at the head office, Richard has seen the brand through a variety of positions from lawn care technician, sales manager to eventually shareholder and general manager. He also ran a large multi-unit operation in Canada for nearly 10 years.

“Mike’s grown alongside Weed Man, and has always given his all to franchisees and the people within the company,” said Jennifer Lemcke, CEO of Weed Man. “Due to his tenure, experience, and high-level performance, it’s evident that he is the perfect fit for the COO role.”

In addition to Richard’s promotion, Erica Knapp, Weed Man’s Digital & Communications Director, has been named the COO of TurfBot, a robotic mowing concept and sub-brand of Weed Man. Knapp brings more than 10 years of communications and digital marketing experience to the role. The TurfBot service will be exclusively offered to Weed Man franchisees over the next few years.

Erica Knapp

Weed Man has also restructured its digital marketing and communications department, promoting Tawnya Pappin to digital marketing and events manager and Crystal Shane to digital marketing strategist. The company will continue to add additional team members to accommodate the accelerated growth.

“As an organization, we’ve always focused on growth and opportunity for our people and believe in the power of promoting within,” said Richard. “Our franchisees do the same within their businesses, as they’re committed to expansion to keep upward mobility available for their existing team members, while acquiring new talent who want to grow with them.”