Andrew Klein

Long before he committed to joining the pest management industry, Andrew Klein saw opportunities for improving it. At just 16 years old, he walked away from a summer stint with his dad’s company making a silent vow: If he ever chose pest management as his career (which he doubted at that moment in time), it would be to strengthen not only the family business but also the industry as a whole.

Fast-forward to 2022, and Klein has fulfilled that pledge and then some. He has led the family business, Assured Environments, to extraordinary success. He has mastered the concept of urban pest management and shared that expertise with company leaders both in the U.S. and abroad. He has worked closely with countless peers, through NPMA, PPMA, Copesan Services and one-on-one collaborations, to improve the professionalism and reputation of pest management. And now, he is working as part of the Terminix team to enter new markets and build a stronger global pest control industry.

“When you think of the really influential leaders over time — inside the pest management industry as well as leaders around the world — they have the ability to see how whatever is happening could connect with something else to create a much larger impact than what most people can envision,” says Alfie Treleven, chair and CEO of Sprague Pest Solutions, Tacoma, Wash. “That’s Andrew. He thinks big and sees the big picture. He understands how to connect people and how the industry, when connected, can do a lot more.”

From Skepticism To Commitment

Andrew Klein represents the third generation of his family to lead Assured Environments. His grandfather, Daniel J. Klein, founded the business as Allied Exterminating in 1934, and his dad, Bob Klein, joined the company in 1964. As Bob, a 2006 PCT Crown Leadership honoree, worked toward growing the company into a commercial leader in the New York City market, he encouraged Andrew to become part of it.

“I grew up revering my dad, being in awe of his personality and business acumen,” says Klein. “As a kid, I never thought twice about what I was going to do with my life: I would go into the family business with my dad. But as a teen, I started questioning whether that was really the course I wanted to take.” Klein’s hesitance was the result of working as a technician during the summer of 1982, his sophomore year of high school. “We used only liquid pesticides back then,” he says. “We were essentially just spraying and praying, and I felt like pest control was not a precise industry, not an industry about getting to the root of problems. That negative perception caused me to walk away thinking, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this with my life.’”

For the next several years, Klein devoted himself to his education. He earned a bachelor of arts in history from Dartmouth College and then applied to Columbia University for graduate school. At the same time, he worked as a part-time sales representative for Allied, but still didn’t see a future for himself there. “We were doing $2 million in total revenue, and every large account we had was a personal relationship of my father’s,” he says. “I didn’t like the idea of sitting in his shadow, so I went on to pursue my master’s in European history with the intent of becoming a history professor.”

In the meantime, Bob brought in a financial business partner, who helped him double the size of the company by the time Andrew earned his master’s. The partner approached Andrew, saying, “We’re pushing $5 million now. I think you should come in and give it another try for a year. As the eldest son, you should know what’s going on in the business, in case something should ever happen to your dad.”

“I thought that was sound advice,” says Klein. “I came back into the business and didn’t look back.”

Fresh Momentum

Andrew and Bob made quite the team — just as Bob and his dad had done decades before. From 1992, when Andrew joined the business, through 2006, when the father-son team bought out their business partner, they made a half-dozen acquisitions in the New York area. They also changed the name of the firm, at the recommendation of one of Andrew’s trusted mentors, advertising executive Martin Landey.

“Martin played a pivotal role in my professional development and gave us some great ideas for the business,” Klein says. “He dreamt up the company name ‘Assured Environments’ because it connotes something bigger than spraying cockroaches; it conveys the message that we will take care of an entire commercial or apartment building environment. My father and I both loved the name. We changed it in 1997 as part of our ongoing efforts to elevate the professionalism of our business.”

About the same time, Andrew became president of Assured. He joined the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and entered an executive program at Harvard Business School. “Business had not been part of my formal education, so I had to learn it on my own — seek out the education as I was working in the position,” he explains. “I also understood that what matters most in this industry is having your team and customers know that your heart and soul is in it; that if you don’t know the answer to something, you will find it; and that you will always be there for them. That’s why I would sleep with my phone — so that if I needed to respond to a customer or employee at 2 a.m., I absolutely could (and would) do that. I wanted the people I was working with to know that I wasn’t just the owner’s son. I was someone who was all in.”

They knew. Klein’s team felt his genuine commitment to their success as well as the company’s, and appreciated his confidence in their abilities and judgment.

“Andy was never a micromanager,” says Michael Bohan, former sales manager at Assured Environments and now division sales and marketing director at Terminix Commercial. “He puts you in a position to succeed and then gives you the responsibility of making decisions so that you can really flourish in your role. He definitely is OK with people stubbing their toe; he understands we learn from making mistakes, and he backs you up 100 percent.”

The depth of Klein’s care and concern for Assured employees was evident not only in the day-to-day work environment but also as he made two notable decisions: the decision to establish an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and the decision to sell the business to Terminix.

Andrew Feldstein, who now leads day-to-day operations as vice president at Assured, was one of the employees who benefited directly from the ESOP when Klein sold the business. “Andrew and Bob saw an opportunity to reward loyalty, promote stability throughout the company and accelerate the company’s growth through the ESOP. They had built the right team — had the strategy, structure and people all in place — and decided that the best way to ensure those people would stay and continue to build the business was to make us employee owners. Having an ownership stake in a business is a great driver of individual and company-wide performance.”

Employee well-being was also a major factor as Klein considered selling the business. He saw joining forces with Terminix as an incredible opportunity for not only himself but also Assured Environments: Klein could play a larger role in influencing the future of the global pest control industry, and Assured could continue growing, backed by the resources of a multibillion-dollar industry leader. He continues to play an active role overseeing the Assured team as vice president, while also carrying out his newer responsibilities as vice president of business development at Terminix.

Urban Market Is Key To Success

While most pest management technicians probably couldn’t imagine taking the subway to their next account, that’s just part of the gig for Assured Environments technicians.

“Urban environments are radically different from most areas where pest management businesses operate,” says Feldstein. “In Manhattan, for example, many structures are connected but not using the same pest management vendor. You have to approach these spaces far differently than you would a freestanding commercial structure. We might be servicing a commercial space that has residential occupants above it, but we have no access to the residential space nor the basement. It’s a unique and demanding environment.”

Klein has overcome New York’s challenges to build a business of such high repute that it serves Rockefeller Center, Madison Square Garden, the 9/11 Memorial Museum and other marquee landmarks as part of its multitude of clients across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

“Andrew has built what is arguably one of the largest, most successful urban pest control operations on the planet,” says Steve Good, president of Good Strategies, who was a member of Assured Environments’ board of advisers and continues to work with Klein on Terminix initiatives. “New York is among the world’s most challenging urban environments — with Hong Kong, Paris, London, etc. — yet Andrew and his team have achieved such success there that visitors from around the globe come to see what they might learn. Andrew is in high demand when he travels abroad as well. He always takes the time to visit companies and help business leaders improve their operations.”

Adds Bohan, “We hosted businesses from Germany, Spain, Japan and other countries, in addition to the U.S., that were looking to improve their urban pest control services. We would show them how we handled bed bugs, rodents, cockroaches and other pests, in addition to sales, service, operations and customer service. Andy and Bob had established an open-door policy where nothing was ever secretive. They were always open to sharing best practices to help companies, even competitors, improve their businesses.”

Terminix recognized Klein’s mastery of urban pest management and the value of the company he had built. When they acquired Assured Environments, it was with the agreement that Klein would become part of their team as well. “We were excited to bring Andrew in because he had built such a successful, sophisticated pest control company in the urban space,” says Dion Persson, senior vice president of strategy and business development at Terminix. “He and his team have helped us build out our urban strategy to take Assured Environments’ best practices to Boston, Philadelphia and other U.S. cities.”

Persson also points to Klein’s international relationships, strategic mindset and leadership skills. “Andrew knows how to build and lead a team with a lot of talent. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to come into this new role with Terminix, because we would have needed him to continue running his business. His strong, competent team enabled us to take him away from Assured Environments’ day-to-day operations and travel throughout China for several months, for example, because things were in a good place back home.”

Now Into Global Markets

In 2009, Klein visited China as part of a U.S. delegation organized by NPMA. He gave a rousing presentation about Assured Environments to pest management professionals who wanted to learn more about how American companies were running their businesses and resolving customers’ pest control issues. A couple years later, as China’s privatization of the pest management industry gained momentum, the head of the Chinese Pest Control Association asked NPMA to send Klein back. He hopped on a plane with then-NPMA CEO Bob Rosenberg to host an all-day seminar for 200 Chinese entrepreneurs.

Klein’s presence and participation made a lasting impact. As he was finalizing the acquisition deal with Terminix in 2018, he traveled across China with Persson to talk with leaders of companies Terminix was interested in buying. “Andrew gave us tons of credibility in China because of his established relationships. We were exploring buying 10 companies there, and nearly every business leader we talked with recognized and welcomed him,” says Persson.

Following that trip, Terminix brought those business owners to New York to meet with Klein, who took them to Assured Environments as well as Rockefeller Center and other accounts. Says Persson, “Andrew’s involvement was extremely instrumental in helping us build the top pest management company in China.”

And China was just the start. When Brett Ponton joined Terminix as CEO in 2020, he led core growth strategies that included a more vigorous approach to M&A. “Given Andrew’s longstanding reputation in the industry as being not only a wonderful operator, but also someone who is deeply committed to the success of the industry, I felt there was no one better to represent Terminix as we worked to build deeper relationships with companies we were looking at acquiring,” he says.

That turned out to be a good call, Ponton explains, as Klein’s contributions were pivotal to a very strong M&A year for Terminix. “Andrew helped us pioneer new entrances into Spain and a number of other European regions in addition to China. He provides insights that are extremely valuable to our assessment of whether various countries and companies would be a good fit with our priorities and business model. In many cases, he leverages his own relationships with business owners to open new doors for Terminix.”

Klein provides insights to prospective M&A participants, too, when they ask what it’s like to be acquired by Terminix. He shares his own journey, explaining what it’s like to be integrated into the company and continue on with a career at Terminix.

As for his role following the Terminix-Rentokil merger, Klein has an open mind. “When our two companies come together, it will be great for all of us, certainly, but also for the industry overall. We will be the world leader — a global powerhouse with the ability to take the industry to new heights. For now, I’m just happy to be in the arena as it is happening.”

Lights Off, Lights On

No story about Andrew Klein would be complete without acknowledging his charismatic nature, devotion to family and friends, and boundless energy. “Andrew cares so deeply. He goes the extra hundred miles for his family and friends, and he has a way of putting everyone at ease,” says Treleven. “He’s also always on the move. What’s the joke about the New York minute? Andrew’s the guy bringing people together, finding a great restaurant and staying out until all hours of the night, then being the first person in the gym in the morning, running harder than anyone else. His energy level — his ability to turn the lights off and turn the lights on — is astounding.”