[2009 Leadership Profiles] Lex Knox

Terminix Service’s “Mr. Inside” may not always get the credit he deserves, but this second-generation PCO has played a key role in the growth of the country’s largest Terminix franchise.

When asked by a reporter to share his life story, Lex Knox, chairman and CEO of Terminix Service, Inc., Columbia, S.C., says in typical self-deprecating fashion, “Are you sure? You might be bored.” Hardly.

For while Tom Fortson is the public face of the largest Terminix franchise in the United States, Lex Knox is the man “behind the scenes” ensuring everything runs smoothly, quietly leading what many consider one of the most professionally managed businesses in the entire pest management industry.

“Tommy is Mr. Outside and I’m Mr. Inside, but upon closer examination our roles are really not that clearly defined,” Knox warns. “Given our personalities, it’s easy to make that observation. I’m more of an introvert and Tom, by nature, is more of an extrovert, but I don’t have any trouble getting in front of a group and speaking, and Tommy has a deep understanding of the business.”

In fact, the two highly regarded executives have a collaborative relationship and a deep mutual respect for one another. “Despite our differences, we’ve always had a very trusting relationship,” Knox observes, in part because they represent different generations. “Because there’s a nine-year age difference between us, we didn’t have to compete early on,” he said. “There was no ‘sibling’ rivalry.”

In fact, Knox describes Fortson as a longtime “cheerleader,” someone who was always looking out for his best interests early in his career. “Tom has always been a very sincere person who has been very supportive of me.” By the same token, he said, “I think Tom knows he can trust and rely upon me as well. We take pride and satisfaction in knowing that we’ve created a collective family environment.”

SECOND-GENERATION PCO. It wasn’t always that way. Marion A. “Lex” Knox Jr.  was born in Columbia, S.C., on July 14, 1947, the same year the Knox family purchased their Terminix franchise, so it must have been fate that Lex would one day enter the pest management industry. “We celebrate the same birthday every year,” he says with a smile.

Knox was educated in public schools and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The Citadel, a military school in Charleston, S.C., 100 miles and a world away from his hometown of Columbia. Both of his parents had attended the University of South Carolina, so it came as a surprise when he expressed an interest in attending The Citadel, a school known for a demanding physical, mental and academic curriculum. “I made that choice on my own,” Knox says. “I wanted to be challenged.” And he certainly was.  “Those first few weeks in the barracks you felt like you were a long way from home,” he remembers. “It was a closed environment. It was a different experience from what most people experience at college.”

Nonetheless, Knox figured it would be a natural fit, given his patriotic nature and buttoned-down personality. Even as a young man Knox was more mature than his high school classmates, uncomfortable with the hard-partying ways of some of his peers. “I thought a military environment would be a good fit for me since to this day I’m a teetotaler,” he said. “I was confident I could get through it,” rising to the rank of Lieutenant before heading overseas to serve in the Vietnam War.

“While I served my country, I was no hero,” he says. “I was a battalion signal officer. I wasn’t out on patrol walking in the jungle. There were some real heroes in that war, but I wasn’t one of them. I was just a guy fortunate to serve my country in a secure place.”

WHAT NEXT? Upon being honorably discharged from the Army, Knox says he “didn’t have a clue what to do with myself.” Like a lot of second-generation PMPs, Knox worked part-time at Terminix during the summers “running re-inspections” and “helping out around the office,” but that was a far cry from embarking on a pest control career.

“When I got out of the Army they shipped me off to work in another Terminix franchise to find out if I really wanted to do it,” he recalls. “Then I came back as a utility man in the Charleston and Sumter branches before returning to the corporate office after I had gotten my education in the field.”

While lukewarm to the prospect at first, Knox eventually entered the family business full-time and he has never looked back. He has toiled quietly behind the scenes for the last 30 years, serving in a variety of management positions, including branch manager, secretary/treasurer, executive vice president, and now chairman and CEO, helping to grow the company to be the eighth largest pest control business in the United States, employing 1,100 people and generating nearly $100 million in revenue. During this period he’s also served as president of the Terminix National Council of franchisees.

Knox’s greatest impact on the business, by his own admission, is in the area of finance and administration, which align nicely with his strengths as a manager. “I’m detail-oriented and naturally reserved,” he said. “I think I bring a sense of systems, accountability and control to the business. I’m keenly aware of how all the pieces of the operation fit together and the consequences of management decisions impacting various aspects of the business. That’s an innate part of my personality. If you take it too far, you can become a cold, analytical machine, but I guard against that by communicating regularly with everyone in the company.”

One of the people that keep him grounded is Susan Douglas, vice president of finance. “Lex is a very good businessman,” she says. “He’s performed a lot of different job functions across the company and knows the business backwards and forwards. He been in this business a long time, but he’s very progressive. He’s not afraid of change. That’s what makes him such an effective leader.”

A SENSE OF PLACE. Whether he knew it or not, Lex Knox always had an affinity for both Terminix Service and the state of South Carolina, so it’s not surprising he ultimately chose to join the family business and raise his family in the Palmetto state.

“Except briefly in my life, I never lived much beyond the borders of South Carolina,” he observes. “The sense of pride and patriotism is strong in this part of the country. Even to this day, I can hear Reveille being played at Fort Jackson when I go out to pick up my paper in the morning. It takes me back to my time at The Citadel when Reveille echoed through the barracks in the morning and Taps in the evening. It gives you a sense of honor and duty and all that this country represents.”

It also explains why Knox is such a beloved figure within Terminix Service, a reputation which grows every day thanks to his high moral standards, personal integrity, respect for co-workers, and love of family.

“I just enjoy coming to work,” he says simply. “I don’t have any great financial needs, any big desires in that area. When I leave work I go home and spend time with my family. My wife Cathy means everything to me. Throughout our marriage, she has provided me with the support and the stable home life that has allowed me to go to work and do the best I can for everyone at our company.”

To some that may appear boring. To others it’s a life well lived.

*****

A Universally
Respected Figure
Although not as well known nationally as he is within Terminix Service, Lex Knox has more than his fair share of admirers. “He’s very calm, cool and collected,” observes Harden Blackwell, a longtime colleague and president of Terminix Services, Greensboro, N.C. “He doesn’t have an ego. He enjoys what he does and takes pride in the business.”

Bobby Foster, a business consultant who has worked with Knox for more than 20 years, says he’s both pragmatic and a visionary. “He’s an anchor of reality, but always looking ahead to new business possibilities, which is a combination a lot of people don’t have,” Foster says. “He’s very good at both.”

“One of the characteristics I admire both personally and professionally is he is a very ethical person,” adds Susan Douglas, vice president of finance, Terminix Service. “He has very strong morals and ethics.” She also admires his honesty. “You know where you stand with Lex. He has no hidden agendas. He’s always up front about everything,” which is the same quality his longtime mentor Tom Fortson admires most in Knox. “His honesty and integrity in all decision making provides a consistency and predictability to the process of working together to ensure that the best and fairest decision is made for our company, be it for our employees or our customers,” Fortson says.

“I know what his position will be before discussions start and many times it will be very different than mine, but we always hash things out and walk away satisfied that all sides were considered in reaching a conclusion and that the ‘high road’ was taken in getting there.”

*****

Up Close: Marion “Lex” Knox Jr.
Title: Chairman and CEO
Company/Affiliation: Terminix Service, Inc.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Personal: Married 35 years to wife Cathy; three children – Alex, 32, Ashley, 29, and Trevor, 26; enjoys going to the movies, attending church and various volunteer causes.
Career Highlights:

• U.S. Army veteran; served in Vietnam
• Held numerous positions at Terminix Service including service technician, branch manager, secretary/treasurer, and executive vice president
• Chairman of the Administrative Board, Shandon United Methodist Church
• Board of Trustees, Columbia College
• Board of Trustees, Children’s Hospital Foundation
• 30-plus year member of St. Andrews Rotary Club
• Has grown Terminix Service to nearly $100 million in annual sales, employing 1,100 people