Speaker Bio

Ben began his commercial landscaping career in 1999, but started mowing lawns in 1989 as a 13-year-old in the Dallas area. Ben earned a Bachelor's degree in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture from Texas A&M University.  Upon graduation from college, he worked for Clean Cut in Austin, Texas, which was soon after purchased by TruGreen Landcare.  Following the transition to TruGreen Ben decided to start Native Land Design in 2001 and grew the business into one of the largest commercial providers in Texas by 2019.  In January of 2019 he sold Native to Yellowstone Landscape and continued with them as a shareholder and General Manager for one of the leading landscape companies in the country.

In addition to supporting work in Texas, Ben has been tasked with developing a robotics program for Yellowstone, assisting in battery testing and deployment, as well as playing a supporting role in acquisitions and software selections.

Ben and his wife Barbie recently had a section of the Texas A&M University Gardens named in their honor to help teach gardening and landscaping to future generations. Ben and his wife currently live in the northwest Austin area with their three children and two labs.