A landscaping chief executive officer settles which services, neighborhoods and customers a lawn and landscape company goes after next, and works out how to fund that push. The CEO builds the management team over sales, crews and office staff, and is often the owner.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Serve as the visionary leader and primary decision-maker for the company’s landscaping division. Shape overall strategy, drive sustainable growth, and build key partnerships to secure competitive market positioning. Ensure cohesive execution of company goals that align with our mission and client expectations.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement strategic plans for long-term growth and market expansion.
Lead high-level negotiations and cultivate relationships with key stakeholders and partners.
Oversee financial performance, budgeting, and resource allocation that support operational excellence.
Represent the company at industry events, conferences, and community engagements.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review daily operational reports and financial metrics to ensure targets and goals are met.
Meet with senior leadership to align on strategy, address challenges, and explore growth opportunities.
Conduct market analysis and competitive reviews to refine service offerings and pricing strategies.
Engage directly with key partners and customers to secure new business and reinforce existing relationships.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth: Achieve a minimum annual growth rate of 10%.
New Strategic Partnerships: Secure at least 5 major partnerships or alliances annually.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating of >4.8 stars.
Operational Efficiency: Improve process efficiency by reducing overhead costs by 8% year-over-year.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Master’s degree in Business Administration, Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 10 years of senior leadership experience with P&L responsibility.
Proven strategic and analytical thinking skills with a track record of driving revenue growth.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the home services or landscaping industry.
Background in transforming operational and business strategies in a matrix organization.
Exposure to technology-driven landscaping solutions and sustainable practices.
Demonstrated success in managing large-scale change initiatives and industry disruptions.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally travel for site visits, partner meetings, and industry events.
Capacity to participate in on-site property assessments during business reviews if necessary.
Standard workplace physical requirements including extended periods of sitting, standing, and walking.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Flexibility for extended hours during strategic initiatives or industry events.
Occasional travel domestically and internationally.
On-call duties may be required during critical business situations.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base Salary range: $200,000 - $300,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses and profit-sharing incentives.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) with company match and other fringe benefits including paid time off and professional development support.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and growth.
We are committed to providing an inclusive environment where visionary leaders can thrive.
Join a team that values collaboration, open communication, and continuous improvement.
Our company is dedicated to personal and professional growth while making a significant impact in the landscaping industry.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A landscaping CEO's biggest calls are made in winter and tested in spring, when every crew has to be staffed and every route has to run.
Every lawn company hires in the same weeks
Sales can sign more lawns than the crews can mow, and competitors are all hiring for spring at once. BLS expects about 162,500 openings a year for grounds maintenance workers over 2025 to 2035. How the CEO answers that shapes the company: keep a core crew paid through winter, promote crew leaders from within, or bring in seasonal workers from elsewhere. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Grounds maintenance workers.
H-2B crews are a capped bet
Many landscapers staff spring with H-2B seasonal workers. Landscaping and groundskeeping was the top occupation in DOL's fiscal year 2025 H-2B certifications, at about 89,000 positions. A labor certification isn't a visa, though. USCIS says Congress caps the program at 66,000 visas a year, with 33,000 for workers starting from April through September. Plan for the spring the crews come late or not at all. Source: U.S. DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification: H-2B selected statistics, fiscal year 2025.
Winter is a business decision
Where winters are cold, mowing ends once the leaves are down, and the CEO decides what comes next. Snow removal keeps crews and trucks busy but needs plows, salt, night shifts and people on call. Holiday and landscape lighting, dormant pruning or tree work can fill some weeks. Laying crews off saves payroll now but can cost you your best people in spring.
Each service line runs like its own business
Weekly maintenance, cleanups, design and install, irrigation and tree care each need their own crews, equipment, insurance and sometimes licenses. Maintenance pays every month. Installs bring deposits, bigger tickets and more estimating risk. Tree work brings climbing, chippers and separate safety training. Part of the CEO's job is deciding which lines get new trucks and people, which go to subcontractors, and which to quit selling.
Gas equipment rules are changing by city
Some places now limit gas-powered yard tools. Washington, D.C. has banned the sale and use of gas-powered leaf blowers since January 1, 2022, and the city tries to fine the landscaper before the homeowner. Switching means buying battery blowers and enough spare packs to last a full route. The CEO watches local rules and plans equipment buys before a ban forces them. Source: DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection: Leaf blower regulations.
How much landscaping chief executive officers make
The closest BLS group for landscaping chief executive officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $158,670 a year ($76.28 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 200 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for landscaping companies.
Base pay, a share of profits and a performance bonus, per the template. An outside hire may also ask for a small ownership stake.
Landscaping companies
$158,670$158,670 median Middle half $122,870–$215,290 10th–90th $91,010–$267,670
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Landscaping companies
$91,010
$122,870
$158,670
$215,290
$267,670
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS reports residential and commercial landscaping companies together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Can explain each service line's gross margin and what moved it
Has run a company, division or branch from spring startup to leaf season
Builds a labor plan months before the first spring cleanup
Sets prices from job costs, not from what competitors charge
Will drop a service or a customer that keeps losing money
Teach these on the job
Turf, plant, irrigation and landscape design basics
Your estimating method and price sheets
How the H-2B filing calendar works
Which of your services need a state license
Your local suppliers, nurseries and equipment dealers
The CEO's view of the business comes from three places: each month's income statement and balance sheet, a cash plan that runs past winter, and job-cost numbers pulled from LMN, Aspire, Jobber or similar software and QuickBooks. If your job costs are a mess, admit it in the ad; a CEO who inherits bad data spends the first season cleaning it up.
Swap the sample targets for ones built from your own last season and next year's growth plan. Revisit them every quarter, and again once spring sales are in, with the people the CEO reports to.
Revenue Growth
Year-over-year revenue for each service line: maintenance, installs, irrigation and tree work. Weather hits each one differently, so look at the lines before the total.
New Strategic Partnerships
Count signed, working partnerships that send you jobs or lower your costs, such as home builders, pool builders, nurseries, equipment dealers or real estate agents. A handshake doesn't count until work or savings show up.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Each month, average the star ratings homeowners leave for you online. In landscaping, the spring renewal list is the stronger signal, so also count the maintenance accounts that sign on again.
Operational Efficiency
Overhead, such as office wages, the yard lease, software and insurance, measured against yearly revenue and against last year's dollar total. Watch both, so growth can't hide overhead that keeps climbing.
Think of the year in two halves. From late fall to early spring, the CEO is pricing next year, sizing the crews, setting the equipment budget and lining up credit for spring payroll. From spring to fall, the CEO watches margins by service line and steps in through the managers when one slips. Homeowners rarely meet the CEO, but they feel those choices when crews show up on their day.
How much does a landscaping chief executive officer make?
Chief executives who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $158,670 a year ($76.28 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $122,870 and $215,290 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
When does a landscaping owner need a CEO?
Is the owner still pricing every install, approving every hire and taking every upset homeowner's call? Then the first hire is usually someone to take over the yard and the crews, such as a general manager. A CEO comes later, when the owner wants to stop running the company, not just the yard, and will let someone else decide prices, budgets and which managers stay.
Who should a landscaping CEO hire first?
Usually the people who can run the season without the CEO: someone to run the crews (a COO, an operations manager or a GM); someone over the money, even a part-time controller; and a sales lead who can fill the spring schedule. With those seats filled, the CEO can spend winter on pricing, buying and planning instead of fixing routes.
Does a landscaping CEO need a horticulture degree?
No. The template wants a master's in business or management, not horticulture, and plenty of owners would trade even that for a record of running a profitable service company. Plant and turf knowledge can sit with your production manager or arborist. What the CEO brings is judgment on money and people, tested through a bad spring or two.
What should a landscaping CEO job ad include?
A serious candidate will ask what they're inheriting, so answer up front. Tell them how revenue splits between recurring maintenance and one-time installs, how many crews and yards you run, and whether your spring crews include H-2B workers. Say whether snow removal fills your winter. Then be clear about the owner's plans: staying on, retiring or selling in a few years.
