Leadership at Lewis

As Lewis CEO, Leslie Kass is responsible for ensuring the success of the company’s customers and employees while developing and executing Lewis’ vision and strategy for growth.

In addition to being Lewis’ first female CEO, Kass was the first female CEO in the 150-year history of Babcock & Wilcox. She also held leadership positions at Westinghouse Electric Company, Nuclear Energy Institute, Entergy, and Duke Energy. A results-oriented and energetic leader, Kass brings board of director and investor community experience to Lewis, along with diverse functional skills such as engineering, finance, operations, and marketing. Her 30-year track record in the utility industry includes the successful team building and coaching of cross-functional global organizations and work in a wide variety of ownership models.

Most recently, Kass served as Executive Vice President at TC Energy’s Corporate Technical Center in Calgary, Alberta. In this role, she led the supply chain and project management office for a multi-billion-dollar capital portfolio and managed corporate-wide governance for engineering, research and development, safety, nuclear regulatory affairs, risk assessment, quality, compliance, security, and emergency response.

The leadership quality Kass values most is engagement. “You must be present to win.”

Kass grew up working in her father’s sawmill business. When she’s not at work, you’ll find her with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs. The Kass family enjoys cooking, traveling, music of all kinds, playing games, and supporting local charities that help at-risk children.

As President and Chief Operating Officer at Lewis, Dennis Brown is responsible for employee safety, modeling and delivering just culture, and continuous improvement across the organization. Brown joined Lewis in 1991 as a Craftworker and was promoted to the General Foreman position not long after coming onboard. During his tenure at Lewis, he has advanced through the organization and held several leadership positions.

Brown has been a major contributor to the consistent growth Lewis has enjoyed over the past thirty-plus years. One of his most notable achievements is that he managed the team that developed a formalized drop zone safety standard. This policy has become vital to work protection procedures for the entire vegetation management industry and is part of ANSI Z133 Safety Requirements for Arboricultural Operations.

Brown believes the most essential leadership quality is humility. His favorite Lewis operating principle is trust, which he regards as foundational because an organization needs trust to fuel the prosperous times and to weather the difficult times; when a leadership team seeks to build trust, they are strongly connected to the organization’s mission and operating principles.

When he’s not busy at Lewis, Brown enjoys tent camping and backpacking.

“Humble leaders are curious leaders. They value input from others to guide decision making. They understand shortcomings and failures and apply learning to overcome them.”

Mike O’Connor is Chief Human Resources (HR) Officer at Lewis. In this role, he is responsible for planning and executing the HR strategy and ensuring alignment with Lewis’ mission, vision, and operating principles. O’Connor joined the company in 2009.

Prior to Lewis, O’Connor spent 13 years at Bausch + Lomb in a variety of senior human resources positions, driving the global HR strategy as an expatriate in Europe. In 2015, he was a finalist for the Human Resources Executive of the Year Award through the Rochester chapter of the National Human Resources Association. At Lewis, O’Connor has created a culture that values learning and development, encouraging employees to embrace continuous improvement and explore career advancement opportunities.

O’Connor emphasizes the importance of humility and believes great leaders are not afraid to show vulnerability, demonstrate empathy, and continually learn from everyone in the organization. Inclusion is his favorite operating principle.

O’Connor holds a master’s degree in human resources management from Rochester Institute of Technology and a graduate studies certificate from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He received a leadership coaching certificate from the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education.

O’Connor enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and is an avid sports fan.

“First and foremost, inclusion is just the right thing to do. Beyond that, making all our employees feel welcomed and empowered creates a culture that enables business success.”

Robert Petrone joined Lewis in 2016 and has served as a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Lewis since 2018. In this role, he is responsible for Lewis’ overall financial health, including compliance, investment/banking relationships and management, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) oversight, and support for operations.

Throughout his career, Petrone has been recognized for redesigning, rebuilding, and developing financial teams to facilitate business growth. In 2012, he was a finalist for the Rochester Business Journal’s Financial Executive of the Year award.

Before joining Lewis, Petrone was Director of Financial Planning and Analysis for Veritiv Corporation, a North American leader in packaging solutions and a Fortune 500 company. He has more than 35 years of experience in finance and is a member of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Saunders College of Business’ Accounting Advisory Board.

The leadership qualities Petrone values most are honesty and integrity.

“It means that you always do the right thing. It encompasses how you treat people, do your job, and make decisions.”

Petrone earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. John Fisher College and an MBA in finance from RIT. Outside of work, Petrone enjoys spending time with family and traveling.

Jamie Garrett is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for Lewis. In this role, Garrett aims to grow the Lewis business and create value for its employee-owners.

Prior to joining Lewis, Garrett led corporate development initiatives for several large companies. Most recently, she served as Senior Manager of Strategy at Accenture where she focused on post-merger integrations. She takes pride in developing the people on her teams so they can reach their full potential.

Garrett believes listening is an important quality for a Lewis leader as it’s about making room for new and diverse perspectives to shape more equitable spaces. She appreciates the organization’s improvement-minded culture, which allows the team to see things through new lenses and challenges them to apply concepts in novel ways.

“Being improvement-minded makes us better leaders. This can be a powerful force that drives business strategy, reinforces culture and improves financial performance.”

Outside of work, Garrett enjoys sports, especially cheering on her two children. She is also a classically trained pastry chef.

Garrett earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and two master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, one in finance (The Wharton School) and the other in Latin American studies.

As a Regional Vice President, Paul Landavere leads a team of 900 front-line workers and office staff who serve a large territory, including Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Illinois. He joined Lewis in 2009 as a General Foreman on a special project, which was subsequently adapted for the customer’s entire distribution system. He has also served as a Supervisor, Area Manager, and Division Manager for Lewis.

Before joining Lewis, Landavere successfully owned and operated several companies, ranging from financial services to tree and landscape management. He was a mortgage banker, commercial real estate broker, and insurance agent. He was also Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a manufacturer that supplied products to retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, QVC, and the Home Shopping Network.

As a leader, Landavere is passionate about establishing trust and a good rapport with teams quickly.

Landavere and his wife have been married since 1990. They have two adult children and a grandchild.

“My favorite Lewis operating principle is trust. Everything is built on trust. Without it, nothing of value can be accomplished.”

Gordon Spaugh has served as a Regional Vice President at Lewis since 2016, when Carolina Tree Care merged with Lewis. In this role, Spaugh leads a large team of employees distributed across the Southeastern United States. He is responsible for relentlessly pursuing strong partnerships with Lewis customers to ensure their success.

Spaugh highly values courage in leadership and enjoys reading books about leaders who have demonstrated courage by leading their teams to success in the face of great adversity. He appreciates Lewis’ operating principle of integrity, which he says is foundational for effective leadership and teamwork.

Outside of work, Spaugh spends time with his wife and three children. He has served as an elder in his church for 20 years and was the Scoutmaster for a Boy Scouts of America troop. He has been on three, 10-day backpacking trips at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Spaugh earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MBA from the University of Virginia. He is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist and Utility Specialist and a Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) Certified Treecare Safety Professional.

“I’ve always admired leaders who have the courage to lead their teams to success in the face of great adversity.”

Eric Scherer is a Regional Vice President of Operations for Lewis. In this role, he oversees 700 employees and manages customer relationships from Michigan to Florida. He has been with Lewis since joining the company as a Division Manager in 2013. As a Division Manager, Scherer won five different safety awards.

Scherer is passionate about empowering individuals and teams to achieve their full potential. He believes that supporting and developing people is critical to an organization’s success.

Before joining Lewis, Scherer served in the U.S. Army. Scherer earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and an MBA from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He is a proud father and a pilot who has visited more than 35 countries.

“I am a strong believer that if you find the right person for the job, who has the potential, you should develop that person, support them, and participate in their growth and success.”

As Regional Vice President for Lewis, Matt Meador is responsible for the safety, productivity, and growth of the company’s operations in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. He has been with the company since 2014.

During his career at Lewis, Meador grew a startup division into one of the company’s largest regions, chaired the EVSAB, and became a Certified Treecare Safety Professional. Prior to joining Lewis, he worked for the Alabama Rural Electric Association. He has spent more than a decade in vegetation management leadership.

The leadership quality Meador values most is humility. “People do not want someone over them, they want someone in front of them.”

His favorite Lewis operating principle is respect; he believes that how we treat each other matters. Outside of work, his faith, family, and friends are what’s important.

Meador has been married for over 20 years to his high school sweetheart.

Brian McBrairty joined the Lewis team in 2019 and is currently a Regional Vice President. He is responsible for five operating divisions throughout the Northeast, ensuring that all front line work is carried out safely and as cost-effectively as possible.

McBrairty has broad-based expertise in regional operations, multi-location leadership, financial management, and business development. Previously, as regional manager with another company, he won their operational excellence award for new business development and profitability, as well as the company’s presidential safety award.

His favorite Lewis operating principle is responsibility, which he sees as a core component of everything he does because responsibility drives results and is the differentiator between under-performing and high-performing teams.

McBrairty holds a bachelor’s degree in labor and industrial relations from Penn State University.
He enjoys offshore fishing on the east coast, both competitively and for recreation, and is the proud father of three daughters.

“With the current complexity of our daily work and the amount of change that exists, leaders must be adaptable. Without this, many leaders hit a career plateau.”