Diamond Landscaping has completed a multitude of strategic acquisitions and hired several key employees since partnering with Kian Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market-focused private investment firm. Kian partnered with founder and CEO Brian Diamond in December 2021.
Founded by Brian Diamond in 1991, Diamond Landscaping provides high-end residential landscaping services in the broader Los Angeles market. Since partnering with Kian, the platform has expanded its footprint and now serves clients in the broader Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, the Hamptons and Jackson Hole markets. The company offers custom installation and craftsmanship, creating beautiful landscapes that are thoughtfully maintained via recurring service contracts.
The platform has also since completed five strategic acquisitions, partnering with established operators in key geographies including Mahoney Associates in Southampton, NY; Pardee & Fleming in Los Angeles; MountainScapes in Jackson Hole, Wy.; Steve Hanson Landscaping in Santa Barbara, Calif.; and James H. Cowan & Associates in Los Angeles.
“Since founding Diamond Landscaping, I have worked to build an organization based on the core values of honesty, hard work and trust,” says Diamond Landscaping Founder and CEO Brian Diamond. “It was clear from the beginning that Kian shares these values, and they have been a collaborative partner as we have grown the business. Our collective goal is to build the leading luxury residential landscaping business in the U.S. by partnering with operators and key executives who take pride in creating unique gardens and maintaining them with consistent white-glove service. Over the years, we have grown substantially and accomplished many key milestones to position the business for future growth. As I look to the future, we remain focused on driving growth in our existing markets, entering targeted new areas, investing in our team and ensuring that we maintain the top level of service for our loyal clients.”
Diamond Landscaping has also made several key hires and partnerships, recruiting industry veterans to bolster the platform and equip the company for enduring growth. Tom Powell and Roger Zino joined as CFO and Executive Chairman & Board Member, respectively, in the fall of 2023. Powell brought 20 years of industry experience to the position and focuses on acquisition integration, professionalization of accounting capabilities and serving as a thought partner to the operating executives at Diamond. Zino has vast operating experience in the broader landscaping and home service sectors, serving as a resource for Diamond Landscaping’s partner companies.
Additional notable hires include Suzanne Wilutis as executive vice president and regional manager of Mahoney Associates, Christian Galindo as branch manager of Diamond Maintenance and Chas McClure as maintenance division leader at Steve Hanson Landscaping.
“Look, Diamond Landscaping is cool. Brian Diamond has a strong combination of creativity, operational ingenuity and customer relationship mastery that enables the business to create and maintain some of the coolest luxury residential landscapes in the country,” Zino says. “The business is built upon practical horticulture enabling the creation of truly beautiful, customized environments for people to enjoy life in with their loved ones. Further, Brian has such great energy and passion that he attracts committed entrepreneurial residential landscape professionals, both in his market and from other markets, who eagerly want to be part of what we are doing here – unique landscapes, passionate gardeners, and loyal customers. Somedays it simply feels like a master class of who can create the coolest gardens. I am having a blast – the opportunity to lend my experience to build a growing platform for such talented entrepreneurs built in a unique way that honors the gardening profession is something that fires me up.”
“Brian Diamond has built a strong reputation as a leading operator in the luxury residential landscaping sector,” says Kian Principal David Hare. “We believe that there is a significant opportunity to execute a disciplined buy-and-build growth strategy within this fragmented sector by partnering with strong operators in key markets across the U.S. It has been extremely rewarding to see the success of the business to date and we look forward to supporting the team through additional strategic acquisitions and further investments in technology and talent to enable sustainable growth.”
