Leland Smith

Background

Leland Smith founded Service Champions Plumbing, Heating & AC in Brea, CA in 2000, after selling his first company, Allied Plumbing, Heating & Air, to ARS in 1997. He grew Service Champions to roughly $280M in revenue and ~2,000 employees before stepping down as CEO in June 2022, moving to Chairman of the Board while remaining a partner and significant investor.

Current Focus

• Chairman of Champions Group Holdings, the ~21-brand residential HVAC/plumbing/electrical platform Service Champions became
• Still "seven days a week" active in the business per CEO Frank DiMarco, despite the CEO handoff
• Champions Group (Odyssey-backed) agreed in Feb 2026 to be acquired by Blackstone for ~$2.5B

What He Cares About

• Premium pricing over discounting, built Service Champions as Orange County's highest-priced HVAC provider
• Employee retention and culture ("take care of your employees... they'll stay with you")
• Rigorous in-house technician training (14-week program) as a competitive moat

Recent Moves

• CenterOak Partners acquired Service Champions in 2019; Odyssey Investment Partners bought it in early 2021
• Blackstone's pending ~$2.5B acquisition of Champions Group (announced Feb 17, 2026) is his second full PE ownership cycle

Sensitivities

• No longer day-to-day CEO. May defer operating detail to Frank DiMarco
• Still holds equity through the pending Blackstone deal; be careful discussing valuation/timing given the live process
• Founder pride in culture and pricing model. Avoid framing roll-ups as pure cost-cutting plays

Questions to Ask

1. What made the CenterOak → Odyssey → Blackstone ownership progression work, and where did each sponsor add or destroy value?
2. How did you preserve premium pricing and technician retention through three changes of control and 20+ brand integrations?
3. Where's the ceiling on HVAC/plumbing roll-up margins before service quality or retention breaks down?