177 176 Growth Rings
Key promotions during the last three years of Karl Warnke's tenure as CEO included
Larry Abernathy, who was named a corporate officer of the Davey Company in 2015
after having been promoted to vice president and general manager of the Davey Tree
Surgery Company in 2012. Abernathy had started his Davey career in 1969 on the
San Diego Gas & Electric account. He spent his entire career at Davey Surgery. With
strong management preceding him, Abernathy acquired the skills to lead Davey Tree's
largest subsidiary. His strengths were in developing important initiatives that would
have immediate and long-term effects on the company. ese included supplier
automation, blueprint monitoring, "vital factors" performance tracking, customer
relations surveys, OSHA compliance, adherence to emissions laws and near-miss
reporting. More recently, he had taken the lead on two critical initiatives, which were
the implementation of the company-wide employee development (Ed) program and
the "safety first" program. He had become a champion of the corporate strategic plan
and the step-down version of the plan for the surgery company.
"Larry had a major impact on shaping the surgery company and its future," said
Karl Warnke, chairman and retired CEO, in 2019. "His willingness to tackle the
challenges associated with doing business in California was undaunted."
Significant promotions in 2016 started with Pat Covey, who was named president
and chief operating officer of e Davey Tree Expert Company. Covey's responsibil-
ities were expanded to oversee some important administrative functions, such as the
equipment and safety departments, purchasing and, later, the recruiting, tracking and
development of the company's all-important field personnel. Over the years, Covey
had served in various capacities with increasing responsibility in both the field opera-
tions and the operations support segments of the company. is latest move came in
preparation for his eventual succession to the president and CEO role.
"e leadership qualities that Pat displays and the direction he visualizes for our
company indicate to me that Davey has many exciting years of growth and opportu-
nity ahead," then Chairman and CEO Karl Warnke said.
Joe Paul was promoted to executive vice president, chief financial officer and
secretary. Having joined Davey in 2005, Paul soon found himself in the middle
of legal proceedings with a large utility client on the West Coast. Additionally, the
insurance industry was becoming much more aggressive with pricing as a result of
major liabilities realized for wildfires in California and other western states. Paul,
working with then executive vice president and CFO Dave Adante, faced three
major fire liability claims and one large class-action suit. Combined, this represented
hundreds of millions of dollars in claims alleged between October 2007 and the final
resolutions in 2013. Paul's most significant contributions were focused around secur-
ing liability insurance in a very difficult market. He also was part of the strategic plan
steering committee, which was organized in 2011. With his department's step-down
plan, and yearly personal objectives, Paul implemented organizational and personnel
changes that would significantly and positively impact the company. Plans for
restructuring and upgrading included priorities such as the internal legal department,
risk management, controller function, internal and external financial reporting and
Leadership Transitions
Appendix B
APPENDIX B