[2008 Leadership Profiles] Todd Leyse

Although father-son teams are not uncommon in family business, a duo like Harold and Todd Leyse of Adam’s Pest Control is a rarity deserving of acclaim. In fact, both professionals have earned wide respect in the industry, and with Todd’s induction as a 2008 leadership winner, the duo joins the exclusive ranks of fathers and sons who have attained the prestigious PCT/Syngenta Crown Leadership Award.

Todd also made recent industry headlines with the June announcement that he had been promoted to president of the company. Meanwhile his father, Harold, recently celebrated his 71st birthday and continues to work full time as chairman of the board for Adam’s. Harold noted the time was right for Todd’s promotion and also to “give him the recognition of the effort he has given Adam’s.”

Over the years both father and son have shown commendable leadership skills — holding various positions with the Minnesota Pest Management Association (MPMA), including terms as president; both have been named to MPMA’s Hall of Fame; and both have served on NPMA’s board of directors. And the parallels don’t stop at their commitment to the industry: These dedicated family men share a love and aptitude for sports, for which both also have received multiple distinctions, and both came into the pest management business, which they’ve grown to love, more by default than as an initial career choice.

Although Todd grew up in the family business since the age of 6, when Harold started Adam’s with partner Don Hanson and ran the company from the family’s basement, he never planned on going into the business. Rather, after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Todd went on to apply his computer expertise in increasingly responsible positions at Honeywell Technology Center and Rosemount Measurement, both divisions of billion-dollar companies.

“I was pretty good in math and science and never really considered a degree in entomology,” Todd explained. “I chose pre-engineering and after two years changed to computer science.”

JOINING THE FAMILY BUSINESS. But when Hanson passed away in late 1995, Harold asked his son if he’d be interested in taking on his partner’s role. “I wanted someone in there that I could trust and depend on,” Harold said.

“He said he’d match my salary, and more than that, I knew he needed me,” Todd said. “So that’s when I joined Adam’s. Until that point there was never really any plan for me to join Adam’s. No life-long ambition. But I always wanted to be in a small company.”

Acknowledging all that he learned about larger companies, budgets, hiring processes and management in his other positions, Todd advises that those who are planning to join their family business spend some time first in another company. “I’d highly recommend those who do plan on joining a family-run to work elsewhere, perhaps even for a large competitor. Be ethical, of course, but learn how others do it,” he said. “Even though we think we do things better, there are some things they do better than us. So as your company goes through the growth of going from one level to the next, you’ve got some of that experience from an outside company to help you get through some of the plateaus of growth that tend to stall out companies at certain levels.”

With all their similarities, it is the differences between the two Leyses that have made for leadership strength at Adam’s. Located in a third-tier suburb of Minneapolis, one that maintains minimum acreage requirements for home lots in order to hold onto its rural roots, the 43-person Adam’s operation services Greater Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

With Todd’s computer and finance savvy and Harold’s pest and technical knowledge, “we really complement each other well,” Todd said.

While he has enjoyed dealing with pest issues more than he expected, Todd said, “My strengths are more with the numbers, so I deal with more of the finances. Dad doesn’t have a lot of interest in it. He can do it, but at this point, he’d rather be dealing with how to solve pest problems and learning new techniques.” The bottom line, Todd notes, is: “I deal with more of the details; he comes up with more of the dreams.”

Office Manager Andrea Guy expresses a similar view of her father and brother. “Dad is the leader, he comes up with the ideas,” she said. While he also brings a great deal of new dynamics to the company, Todd tends to be the more analytical one, gathering all the facts, exploring all options, then making a decision, getting buy-in from those involved, then implementing action, she said.

Such character traits have been essential to Todd’s success when coming in to Adam’s, first as vice president, and today as president. It was, after all, already a mature company when Todd joined, and he hadn’t worked his way up in the traditional sense. While he had proven his managerial, computer and financial skills at two major corporations, Todd had to prove himself to the people of Adam’s. “I had to walk into a situation where I had to not pretend like I was a know-it-all,” Todd said. “I had to earn the respect of the employees of Adam’s.”

And by all accounts it appears Todd has met this challenge. “He’s well accepted by the people because he is hands on,” Guy said, explaining that when Todd started with the company, he went right out into the field, working nights, getting “down in the dirt. He really wants to learn from people.”

“People respect him,” added Executive Assistant Patty Veronikas. Todd, she said, is very level headed, thinking before he talks and providing positive solutions to issues. “People look up to him. He has proven himself.”

The elder Leyse also admires the way Todd jumped in to join the Adam’s’ team and never looked back. “Todd quickly earned the respect of the technicians by helping in the field and covering an open night route while still working during the day,” said Harold. “That first year after my partner of 25 years passed away was challenging. I had to refinance my house to keep the business going, but I knew I could trust Todd implicitly and that he’d work as hard as I would.”
 
ALL-AROUND LEADERSHIP. Todd’s industry and community involvement extends from representation on national and state pest management associations to presidency of his local basketball association and coaching of elementary-school basketball teams — and taking the fifth-grade team to fourth in the state, of 106 teams entered.

Todd greatly enjoys this part of his life not only for the opportunity to be involved in a sport he loves and coach his own children at the game, but to be a part of such learning and growth on behalf of all the children. “You get to see kids grow so much faster than you see people in the work environment grow, because they’re just sponges and so ready and willing to learn,” he said. “I really like seeing the little improvements over the season.”

It is because of his extensive activity that Todd was inducted to the MPMA Hall of Fame this March. “He has done a lot in his career — more than most,” said MPMA Past President and Adam’s Operations Manager Steve Denison. In addition to being MPMA president himself, Todd often acts as counsel to current presidents, said Denison, who turned to Todd often during his own presidency.

“He has a good grasp on the industry as a whole. He is able to do research, analyze that research and give advice. I used him as a sounding board many times.”

At Adam’s, Todd treads the ideal middle ground between analytical and affability. “He is very analytical and has a high degree of integrity, and he has an open-door policy,” Denison said. “I’ve never seen him turn away anyone — from technician to manager.”

Todd has never sought the acclaim that has come with his many industry contributions.

Quoting President Theodore Roosevelt, he said, “‘Every man owes a part of his time and money to the business or industry in which he is engaged.’ I think every company has an obligation to the industry that it is in.” Not only to provide service to the industry, but “because a healthy industry is a healthy Adam’s Pest Control.”

A HEALTHY COMPANY. Whether Adam’s is getting a return on Todd’s contributions to the industry or simply benefiting from his leadership, the company is indeed healthy. Before he joined Adam’s, business was growing, but not aggressively, and margins were declining. Business has now grown from $2 million in revenues to $4.7 million and margins are increasing.

Todd accomplished this first through analysis of all the company’s vendors, some of which Adam’s ended up changing — by switching insurance carriers, Adam’s saved $40,000 — and some of which helped Adam’s make changes to save money. “We stuck with a lot of our vendors but did things a little smarter or more efficiently,” Todd said. “It took us about four years to get through all the vendors and everything we did. But that really helped set the table, and since then, we’ve been able to manage our costs better.”

Todd also made improvements at Adam’s that have contributed to its growth, Harold said, such as outsourcing the advertising program, purchasing products in bulk for better pricing, and increasing the company’s residential services to better fit the Minnesota market. “We’ve grown under his tutorship,” Harold said. “All in all, I’m very happy to have him for a partner and a son.”

Adam’s increased focus on residential service has been a huge area of growth for the company, Denison added. “It’s all due to Todd and his vision of expanding the company.”

Todd’s peers stress his ability to conduct in-depth research and think through all angles before making a decision as the traits that have brought him so far, and made him so valuable to both his company and the industry.

“Todd has always been a good resource,” said Mike Rottler, president of Rottler Pest and Lawn Solutions in St. Louis, and past NPMA president. “He’s very thoughtful and likes to do his homework before he makes a decision.” But this analytical approach does not take anything away from his dedication. “He is very passionate about the industry and about helping people,” Rottler said.

Todd was a strong asset to and very active on the NPMA board during his term, Rottler said. He would address all issues with this same analysis, asking good questions, sharing his opinions, and looking at the big picture and an issue’s value to or effect on all companies in the industry — big or small.

One motto of the board, Rottler said, is to “take off your me hat and put on your we hat.” Todd supported good ideas that focus on the long-term and the big picture.

THE FAMILY MAN. With all Todd’s industry and community involvement, it could seem that he’d have nothing left for family. But every person who talked about Todd mentioned his strong family bonds from the complementary relationship he has with his father, to the time he spends with his children.

“Typically, if Todd is at a meeting, he’s got his family with him,” Rottler said. “He’s very patient, very gentle with his kids. He believes strongly in family.”
 As to the future for Adam’s and the Leyse family, Todd is quite content with the way things are. “I don’t see any real big changes,” he said.

At Adam’s, he expects more of the same steady growth with a focus on attracting and retaining quality employees who want to learn and deliver a quality service.

“We always want to grow, but growth isn’t our No. 1 concern. So we just want to have steady growth — smart growth,” he said.

Today Harold said the company wouldn’t be where it is without Todd’s efforts and commitment. “With Todd, my daughter Andrea Guy, and the entire Adam’s family helping me, we’ve grown Adam’s to 43 employees and yet maintained that small, family run company that is technician-focused like I’ve always wanted from day one, back in 1971.”

And while Harold expresses complete comfort with Todd taking over the family business, Todd doesn’t see Harold’s retirement as a pending occurrence. “When he does retire, I think it will be in quotes,” Todd said. “It will just be a change in job description. He’ll give up a duty he doesn’t want to do — and it’s probably a duty I don’t want to do either, so we’ll have to find someone to do it.” 

Todd Leyse at a Glance

• President, Adam’s Pest Control
• Active member of the Minnesota Pest Management Association and National Pest Management Association
• Member of the Minnesota Pest Management Hall of Fame, Class of 2008
• Held several positions at  Honeywell and Rosemount Measurement
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, University of Minnesota
• Todd and wife, Jerri Lynn, have three children: Nolan, 12; Madison, 10; and Sheridan, 3.
• Todd’s sister, Andrea Guy, is Adam’s office manager and his dad, Harold, is chairman of the board.

An Impressive Resume: Leyse's Many Interests

Todd Leyse’s extensive industry and community involvement would constitute a full-time job for many. Here are just of few of the roles that have benefited from Todd’s commitment:

Association representative — MPMA Presidency 2000-2001 and 2004-2005 and ongoing counsel to the association’s presidents; Minnesota PCO Conference Planning Committee; and NPMA Board of Directors 2006; Quality Pro Board of Directors 2004-2005; Technology Committee 2000.

Speaker — Local and national engagements, speaking on various pest-related and industry technology topics.

Builder — Designed and managed the building of Adam’s new offices, into which they moved last spring; continued remodeling, leasing out and assisting with build-outs of Adam’s previous offices.

Coach and player — Having played college basketball for two years, Todd continues to shoot hoops himself; is president and webmaster for the Osseo/Maple Grove Basketball Association; and coaches and assists with teams of all grade levels. He’s also enjoyed dancing with his daughter three of the last four years in a father-daughter dance that’s part of her dance studio’s year-end recital.

Award winner — PCT’s 40 under Forty (2003), Minnesota Pest Management Hall of Fame (2008).