Mr. Grandpre serves as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Outdoor Living Brands, a company dedicated to franchising leading brands within the outdoor living market. The company’s portfolio currently includes Archadeck, the world’s leading design and build contractor of custom residential decks, screened porches, sunrooms and other outdoor living spaces, Mosquito Squad, a leading mosquito, tick and outdoor pest control company, and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, the leader in outdoor lighting systems for the residential market, Conserva, the experts in smart irrigation and sprinkler systems and Renew Crew, the wood and hardscape experts. As Chairman and CEO of Outdoor Living Brands, Mr. Grandpre sets strategic direction for the company, including growth through franchisees owners, Conserva Irrigation, acquisitions and fostering a corporate culture of innovation and service.
Prior to the formation of Outdoor Living Brands, Mr. Grandpre served as president of Archadeck since 2005. Before joining Archadeck, he worked for the consulting firm Accenture, CFC, two investment banking and merger and acquisition advisory firms, BB&T Capital Markets and Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. During his career, he has served in an advisory capacity on more than $500 million of corporate transactions including corporate sales, acquisitions, divestitures and both public and private market equity and debt financings.
Mr. Grandpre has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s of business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Mr. Grandpre resides in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Susan, and three children.
Scott Zide is chief operating officer (COO) of Outdoor Living Brands and co-founder of Mosquito Squad, which includes Archadeck, the leading design and build contractor of custom residential decks, screened porches, sunrooms and other outdoor living spaces, Mosquito Squad, a leading mosquito, tick and outdoor pest control company, and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, the leader in outdoor lighting systems for the residential market, Conserva, the experts in smart irrigation and sprinkler systems and Renew Crew, the wood and hardscape experts. As COO of Outdoor Living Brands, Mr. Zide manages day-to-day operations and strategic planning.
Mr. Zide began working with OLP in 2000 as a franchise owner in St. Louis, Missouri, having spent several years as a franchise owner in the restaurant industry. In 2002 he was hired by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Franchise (OLPF) as a consultant to help support new franchisees, leading to a full-time position as director of franchise support.
In June 2004, Mr. Zide and his wife, Erin, sold their OLP St. Louis location in preparation for a move to Charlotte, where he assumed the role of vice president of OLPF. During his tenure with OLP, he helped grow the company to more than 80 franchise locations worldwide, with primary responsibilities that included the day-to-day management of operations as well as long term strategic planning.
Mr. Zide graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in business management. He resides in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife and two children.
Corey L. Schroeder is vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Outdoor Living Brands, a multi-brand franchise company dedicated to products and services within the outdoor living market, which currently includes leading brands Archadeck, Mosquito Squad, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, Conserva, the experts in smart irrigation and sprinkler systems and Renew Crew. As vice president and CFO of Outdoor Living Brands, Mr. Schroeder is responsible for the financial reporting and management of the business, overseeing franchise compliance matters and working to support the strategic direction of the company.
Prior to the formation of Outdoor Living Brands, Mr. Schroeder served as Vice President and CFO of Archadeck since 2006. His experience before joining Archadeck included a position in the corporate treasury department of CarMax, a Fortune 500 retailer of used automobiles. Mr. Schroeder also spent several years in merger and acquisition investment banking at Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. in Richmond, Virginia. During his investment banking career, he served in an advisory capacity on many transactions including corporate sales, acquisitions, divestitures and private equity and debt financings.
Mr. Schroeder has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Richmond and a master’s degree in accounting from the College of William and Mary. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Mr. Schroeder resides in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Jessica, and their two kids.
To ensure that the Mosquito Squad Operations Team remains strong, forward-thinking and customer service focused, Amy Lawhorne serves as the Mosquito Squad Vice President and Brand Leader.
Recognized as a “rock star” in the franchise industry, Ms. Lawhorne has the broad experience and nurturing talent to exponentially build and add value to the operations, training and relationship building skills so critical to the Mosquito Squad brand.
Ms. Lawhorne brings rich experience in operations management, sales, finance, human resource development, legal compliance and customer service to Mosquito Squad, most recently serving as chief operating officer of SFE, LLC where she oversaw more than 350 locations.
Previously, she spent more than 20 years with Dairy Queen of Virginia, Inc. where she developed and implemented the business and operations plan, growing the company from 36 to 120 profit centers. She also served as a regional account manager for McLane Company, a $30B supply chain operations leader.