The Edge July/August 2025

TALKING WITH TITANS

Talking with Titans: Larry Ryan By Jill Odom

LARRY RYAN IS THE FOUNDER AND executive chairman of Ryan Lawn and Tree, based in Merriam, Kansas. He earned a degree in forestry from the University of Montana and started his company in 1987. Ryan converted his company to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1998. He is passionate about developing a great place to work and providing great careers to their employees while they create healthier, more beautiful communities. Ryan recently stepped down as president after serving in the role for 38 years. He will continue to serve as the executive chairman of the Ryan board of directors. Chuck Monico, who joined Ryan in 2022 when their companies merged, has been named the new CEO. HOW HAS YOUR BACKGROUND IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY DRIVEN YOUR FOCUS ON CUSTOMER SERVICE? One of the interesting things about restaurants is when people are hungry, they have no tolerance and forgiveness is hard. You can lose a customer so quickly if you’re not on your game, if you’re not really present, if you don’t have that attitude of service. When we orient new people, I remind them that the service industry doesn’t mean serve us; it means serve them. DID YOU EVER IMAGINE YOU’D GROW THIS BUSINESS TO OVER 500 ASSOCIATES? I did but in a different way. I worked for the guy who started Pizza Hut, Dan Carney, for a short period of time, early in my career. I saw how he built out Pizza Hut as national company through franchising very rapidly. I dreamed of that in the tree industry. My background was in forestry, but I did not understand the relationships you build. When you build on something with excellence, there has to be a commitment to each other. I had no idea how our company would morph into something that was beyond my dreams. We’re in four states.

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