Experienced senior leadership scaling for growth and success.
HQ: Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Serving: Metro Boston, Rhode Island
HQ: Hamilton, Ohio
Serving: Columbus, Cincinnati
HQ: Wylie, Texas
Serving: Dallas Fort-Worth, Amarillo, Lubbock, Oklahoma City, Shreveport
HQ: West Chester, Ohio
Serving: Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Northern Kentucky
HQ: St. Louis, Missouri
Serving: Greater St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville
HQ: Newbury, Ohio
Serving: Greater Cleveland
HQ: Scituate, Massachusetts
Serving: Boston’s South Shore
HQ: St. Charles, Missouri
Serving: Greater St. Louis
HQ: Manchester, New Hampshire
Serving: New Hampshire, Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine
HQ: Missouri City, Texas
Serving: Greater Houston
HQ: Missouri City, Texas
Serving: Greater Houston
HQ: New Braunfels, Texas
Serving: New Braunfels, La Vernia, San Antonio, San Marcos, Texas
HQ: New Braunfels, Texas
Serving: New Braunfels, La Vernia, San Antonio, San Marcos, Texas
Alan Handley is a transformational essential services industry leader and President and Chief Executive Officer of Visterra Landscape Group, a Top 30 premier commercial landscaping platform. Alan’s leadership has helped fuel Visterra’s dramatic growth, surging 2024 revenues by 49 percent to $119 million. Alan has built a dynamic people- and safety-focused culture at Visterra, introducing free healthcare plans and screenings for all field labor and landing back-to-back safety excellence awards from the National Association of Landscape Professionals. In 2024 and 2025, Visterra was named a Best Places to Work in Landscaping winner by the editors of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
Prior to Visterra, Alan served more than a decade at LRS, one of the nation’s largest privately-held waste, recycling and portable services providers. Alan transformed LRS from a local $50 million provider to generating revenues in excess of 12X over 11 years, growing the company’s footprint from one to 11 states. Alan also managed three company recapitalizations, including a successful exit in 2022, to Macquarie Asset Management valued at over $1.2 billion.
Prior to LRS, Alan served as Executive Vice President and CFO at the Aldridge Group, one of the nation’s leading electrical technology partners, where he co-led the growth of that business from $140 million to $500 million and executed a successful exit in 2012. Earlier in his career, Alan ascended to leadership positions at KPMG, Heller Financial Services and Price Waterhouse.
Alan earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he later served as an adjunct professor, and holds a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Northern Illinois University (NIU). In the early 1990s, Alan was mobilized in Operation Desert Storm, serving the nation in the United States Marine Corps.
He is actively involved in raising awareness and support for individuals impacted by Lupus through his leadership with University of Chicago Medicine and the Lupus Society of Illinois. His board commitments include: the Lupus Society of Illinois, the Pediatric Lupus Clinic at the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital, and serving as chairman of the Board of Executive Advisors at the NIU College of Business.
Alan and his lovely wife, Ann, have been married for over 30 years and raised four beautiful daughters. Alan enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, traveling the world, flying, sailing, scuba diving and mountaineering. He is passionate about protecting green spaces through environmental conservation, and ridding plastic from the world’s oceans.
A tenured business services executive, Leanne has extensive experience leading Finance and Accounting functions. Prior to joining Visterra as Chief Financial Officer, Leanne served as CFO of 3Phase Elevator Corporation, an elevator and escalator services business, where she led all financial functions and managed the integration process for over 15 partnerships. Leanne has a BS in Accounting from Boston College, an Master of Science degree in Taxation from Northeastern University, and an MBA from Suffolk University.
Ron Harris serves as Visterra’s Chief Operating Officer, bringing an exceptional record of career leadership in navigating diverse strategic priorities that drive and grow profitable businesses. Ron’s career spans strong finance and broad operational leadership experience in service, industrial manufacturing, and distribution businesses.
Prior to Visterra, Ron served four years as Vice President and head of M&A Integration at LRS, a leading privately held super-regional provider of waste, recycling and portable services, where he successfully integrated more than 20 acquisitions. Throughout his career, Ron has been integral to acquisitions, integrations, transitions from private to public, public to private, domestic and international ownership and, public to full private equity ownership via carve out.
He previously served in senior executive positions at EIS, one of North America’s leading distributors of process and production materials, fabricated solutions and value-added services; and at Superior Essex, a global leader in cable and wire technology.
Ron holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellog School of Management.
Ryan McGuire serves as Chief Development Officer at Visterra Landscape Group, where he leads the company’s growth strategy, mergers & acquisitions, and market expansion efforts. A passionate business builder, Ryan’s dedication to growth stems from his entrepreneurial roots where he worked alongside his father in the family’s construction business.
His experiences instilled in him a lasting respect for hard work, the importance of maintaining strong relationships, and a genuine appreciation for the entrepreneurial spirit. Ryan has spent the last decade in leadership roles at private equity-backed companies in environmental services and critical infrastructure, where he helped teams grow through thoughtful, long-term partnerships.
Prior to Visterra, Ryan led M&A at Ardurra Group, a national engineering firm. Before Ardurra Group, Ryan served as Director of M&A at one of the nation’s largest privately-held waste and recycling companies, where he executed more than 24 acquisitions that led to a successful recapitalization of the company by a global private equity sponsor.
Ryan takes particular pride in working directly with owners and operators to find the right path forward—bringing a steady, respectful approach to deal execution, leadership transition, and integration planning.
Ryan holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a bachelor’s degree from Carthage College. Outside of work, Ryan is an active member of the Chicago Club and enjoys travel, golf, and time with family.
John Sliwicki is a leading operations and risk management professional specializing in Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), risk mitigation, safety policy and compliance, risk transfer strategies, fleet management and operational excellence. He is responsible for all Visterra risk management and compliance, EHS, insurance, and leading day-to-day operations, procurement and safety teams across the Visterra platform.
John joins Visterra following eight successful years at LRS, a leading super-regional waste and recycling company. At LRS, John rose to the rank of Executive Vice President, with previous senior management roles leading all Material Recovery Facility (MRF) Operations, and Safety and Risk. Previous to LRS, John served 10 years as head of Risk for Aldridge Electric, a leading privately-held provider of electrical and foundation solutions. Before Aldridge, John headed Safety and Health at D&P Construction Company.
John holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Indiana University Bloomington, a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Project Management from American Intercontinental University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Safety from Illinois State University.
Personally, John spends his free time traveling with his family and is committed to soaking in all the joys of his 2 children’s sports, theatre, music, and dance.
Carrie Velkover serves as Vice President, Human Resources, where she leads human capital strategy across Visterra’s rapidly growing platform. Carrie brings to Visterra more than 20 years of frontline Human Resources experience, comprising strategic HR, post-acquisition integration, payroll and benefits operations across high-growth multi-state organizations.
Prior to joining Visterra, Carrie played a key leadership role at one of the largest independent waste, recycling, and portable services providers in the Midwest. Carrie led HR, benefits, and payroll operations for more than 2,400 employees across ten states. Her work modernizing HR systems, implementing KPIs, consolidating payroll FEINs, and creating a long-term benefits strategy helped streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance compliance. She was a core member of the acquisition team, helping to onboard and integrate more than 1,200 employees through 50+ successful transactions.
Carrie brings a strong track record of modernizing HRIS/payroll platforms, managing complex union environments, and building high-performing teams. Earlier in her career, she held a Payroll and Benefits leadership role at Aldridge Electric, where she led multi-state payroll operations, designed paperless environments, and drove process improvement initiatives that contributed to operational efficiency and compliance.
Carrie holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University and is known for her pragmatic leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and ability to drive results through technology, process improvement, and people-first strategy.
Joe McBrayer brings to Visterra more than 15 years of frontline enterprise technology experience. He is a strategic technology executive dedicated to leveraging technology as a catalyst for business transformation. His career is highlighted by a consistent ability to lead complex projects and teams through periods of significant transformation and growth.
Prior to his role at Visterra, Joe served as Senior Vice President of Technology at Quantix, where he was instrumental in developing an IT strategy that modernized core applications (ERP, TMS, WMS) and successfully integrated technology for over 10 M&A transactions. Joe is skilled in all aspects of enterprise technology management, from vendor selection and budget oversight to leading large-scale system conversions and implementing automation that streamlines operations.
Joe’s hands-on experience in solutions architecture and program management provides a unique perspective on delivering technical solutions that are not only innovative but also directly aligned with client needs and business goals.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in IT Management from the University of Notre Dame.
As Vice President of Sales, Brook leads all Visterra sales and business development activity, from building regional partner company sales territories to a strong pipeline of national and municipal accounts. He leverages his more than 20 years of frontline landscape and property care experience to ensure an exceptional customer experience.
Brook joins Visterra from partner company Oberson’s Nursery and Landscape, where he served as Columbus (Ohio) Branch Manager, growing revenues more than 200 percent. Prior to Oberson’s, Brook served as Regional Sales Manager for Sweeping Corporation of America (SCA), and Director of Sales and Marketing for Hickman Lawncare. Brook retired from military service in 2022, earning two Bronze Stars over four tours of duty in 23 years.
Mark Aquilino’s passion for the landscape industry is rooted in his family. Growing up in the business his parents founded, Outdoor Pride, he learned firsthand that a strong work ethic and a deep commitment to building relationships were the cornerstones of success.
Since becoming President in 2017, Mark has applied these foundational lessons to lead the company through a period of explosive growth, increasing annual revenue by more than 480%. Under his leadership, Outdoor Pride earned national recognition in 2019 as a “Small Giant,” one of only 25 companies in the country celebrated for choosing greatness over growth. Mark has also been personally recognized as one of the Top 200 Most Influential Business Leaders in New Hampshire.
Today, as Regional President for Outdoor Pride in New England, a partner of Visterra Landscape Group, Mark’s core mission is to clear the path for his teams to be successful at any level and by any means. He focuses on driving the best team culture and an unwavering commitment to safety, ensuring the highest level of service backed by deep roots in relationships.
Philanthropy is a major role in Mark’s life. Through the Aquilino Family Foundation, he and his family have given out millions in grants. His passion for helping veterans is channeled through his board work at Swim With A Mission, which since 2017, has distributed $11.5 million to support critical services for our nation’s Veterans.
Anthony ‘Tony’ Wilson serves as Regional President of Visterra’s Midwest territory, responsible for leadership of Visterra’s GroundsPRO, Oberson’s and H&M partner company branches. Tony founded GroundsPRO in 2012, grew the business successfully for 12 years and accepted investment in early 2024 as a Visterra partner company. Tony brings more than 30 years of frontline management and landscape industry expertise.
Clients over the years include: UPS, Cushman Wakefield, Miller Valentine (now Culmen Real Estate), Stonegate Property Management, JLL, Towne Properties, REM Group, CB Richard Ellis, Colliers International, City of Forest Park, City of Sharonville, Ambrose and others. Prior to founding GroundsPRO, Tony served in various account management roles, including five years at Brickman Group, as well as stints at GroundMasters and TinkerTurf Lawn and Landscape.
Tony earned his bachelor’s degree in history with a concentration in business administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Tony and his wife are the parents of two children. He is passionate about family, golf, travel and sports.
As Vice President of Visterra’s South Region, Brett is responsible for managing and scaling growth, efficiency and operations at Visterra partner company, Dyna-Mist, across Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Brett is an ISA-certified Arborist and a career landscape and snow and ice management professional who most recently served as Vice President of Operations at Visterra partner company Oberson’s Nursery & Landscape, where he spent more than ten years propelling Oberson’s rapid growth alongside Founder Chad Oberson.
Prior to Oberson’s, Brett served in similar roles at WMV Enterprises and The Brickman Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio University.
As Director of Visterra Construction, Drew Christopher brings over 20 years of industry experience and a proven track record leading high-performance teams in delivering complex, large-scale landscape construction projects across commercial, municipal, and institutional sectors. With a background in landscape architecture and construction management, Drew blends technical expertise with strategic leadership to drive operational excellence, quality craftsmanship, and client satisfaction.
In mid-2025, Drew and his team received industry recognition from the National Association of Landscape Professionals, earning an NALP Award of Excellence for his work on the University of Cincinnati Hospital’s Nature Garden, designed and built as a safe and peaceful refuge for Emergency Room staff, patients and families.
Drew began his career as an entrepreneur in the landscape industry, steadily advancing through to commercial project management and regional leadership roles. He has overseen the successful execution of multimillion-dollar developments, including urban parks, streetscapes, corporate campuses, and mixed-use environments. His deep understanding of construction logistics, subcontractor coordination, and sustainable design practices ensures projects are delivered on time, on budget, and to the highest standards.
Known for his hands-on leadership style, Drew focuses on developing talent from within, fostering a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement. He plays a key role in cross-departmental collaboration, helping to align preconstruction, estimating, and maintenance integration efforts. Under his leadership, the construction division has consistently exceeded performance targets while strengthening long-term client relationships.
Drew is a Certified Landscape Professional (CLP) and holds a bachelors in Horticulture from the University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP). He is passionate about mentoring emerging leaders and driving innovation in construction methods and technology adoption.
Jeffrey holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University, a Master’s in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a CFA® charterholder. He began his career in strategy and transactions at EY, followed by corporate development at SRS Distribution, and later joined Trinity Hunt Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm. While at Trinity Hunt, Jeffrey covered Visterra Landscape Group before transitioning to the company to help drive its growth and strategic initiatives.
Kristin brings to Visterra more than three decades of frontline accounting experience across roles at every level of an organization.
Prior to taking on the role as Corporate Controller for Visterra, she served as Controller at 3Phase Elevator Corporation, a leading provider of elevator maintenance, repair and modernization.
Before 3Phase Elevator Corporation, Kristin served as Assistant Controller at Imprivata, a digital identity company for life and mission critical industries. Kristin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Maine, Orono.
Jim Engineer is a leading marketing, communications and public relations executive, bringing to Visterra proven frontline experience that transforms start-ups into category leaders. He is responsible for all marketing and communications at Visterra, accelerating demand, lead generation, branding, reputation and groundswell in the competitive commercial landscaping industry.
Jim’s efforts have helped catapult Visterra into one of the industry’s leading commercial landscape service providers, including being named a back-to-back winner of Lawn & Landscape’s coveted Best Places to Work in Landscaping along with multiple safety and project excellence awards. Jim also manages internal and external communications around partnership integrations and is responsible for executing Visterra’s annual ESG compliance surveys.
Prior to Visterra, Jim led ESG, Communications and Government Affairs at a Chicago-based waste, recycling and portable services provider. Previous to that, Jim operated a successful boutique PR practice, e-Rainmaker Public Relations, where for nearly two decades he launched 19 innovative start-ups in the information security, critical infrastructure and essential service industries; of his 19 clients, 13 were acquired and six continue to thrive. Before e-Rainmaker, Jim served as Regional Spokesman and Communications Specialist at Mellon Bank Corporation in Philadelphia.
Jim holds two Bulldog Stars of PR award commendations, including Media Relations Professional of the Year and Best Use of Digital/Social in a B2B Technology Campaign. He completed U.C. Berkeley College of Law’s Sustainable Capitalism and ESG program and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations from Northern Illinois University. Jim is the proud dad of two amazing daughters, and enjoys time with family, golf, football, sustainability, culture and world travel.
Michael Edwards leads Visterra’s local municipal, regional and national account sales. Michael is a results-driven sales manager and business development leader with more than two decades of success driving growth and profitability across B2B service industries. He brings to Visterra a proven track record in sales leadership, strategic planning, and relationship management, and has consistently elevated team performance and expanded market presence for national and regional organizations.
Michael’s expertise spans multiple sectors—including environmental services, landscaping, facilities management, and physical security—where he has built and led high-performing sales teams that deliver measurable results.
Throughout his career, Michael has held senior leadership roles with multiple service companies, where he directed multi-state sales teams and secured long-term partnerships with key national accounts. His hands-on leadership style emphasizes strategic pipeline development, cross-market revenue expansion, and operational efficiency. Michael is also adept at implementing CRM systems, developing sales KPIs, and executing multi-service sales strategies that boost customer retention and profitability.
Michael holds a Master’s degree in Corporate Communications from Radford University and a Bachelor’s in Communication Studies and Business Management from Virginia Tech. His professional philosophy centers on accountability, performance, and partnership—building trust with clients and motivating teams to exceed expectations.