Our Leadership Team
At Canopy Service Partners, our leadership team brings together deep industry expertise, entrepreneurial grit, and a people-first commitment to building the most trusted tree care platform in the country. We lead with intention—balancing smart, scalable growth with a relentless focus on safety, quality, customer experience, and partner success. United by a shared culture and mission, we’re building a unified system that empowers local brands, elevates our teams, and strengthens performance while preserving the craftsmanship and community roots that define great tree care and enable sustainable growth.
Patrick Shelton
Chief Executive Officer
Patrick Shelton is the Chief Executive Officer of Canopy Service Partners, where he focuses on building a high-performing company that brings structure, alignment, and support to a growing network of partner companies. He combines operational discipline with an entrepreneurial mindset, ensuring Canopy delivers for its partner companies, employees, and customers.
Patrick brings a mix of hands-on operating experience and strategic leadership across the home services and manufacturing sectors. Prior to joining Canopy, he served as Chief Operating Officer of a leading national home improvement platform. He has experience leading transformations, developing teams, and driving alignment around clear goals that deliver results.
A North Carolina native, Patrick earned his degree in business from Indiana University before beginning his career in finance. He and his wife, Lindsey, live in Charlotte with their three children. Outside of work, Patrick enjoys coaching his kids’ soccer teams, running, and playing golf-and can often be found at the same few favorite local restaurants with Lindsey.
Brittany Van Arkel
Chief People Officer
Brittany Van Arkel serves as Chief People Officer at Canopy Service Partners, where she leads the company’s people strategy across organizational design, talent, culture, and employee experience. Known for translating business goals into practical, scalable talent systems, Brittany is building a high-performance people function anchored in local excellence, disciplined execution, and measurable outcomes.
Brittany brings a rare blend of Industrial-Organizational rigor and operator mindset shaped by leadership roles at Wayfair and Amazon, plus early consulting experience at Aon and PDRI.
Throughout her career, Brittany has built high-performing HR Business Partnerships and launched integrated talent frameworks that deliver results, streamlining processes, clarifying scope and progression, elevating leadership effectiveness, and improving the employee experience at scale. She is known for putting structure to ambiguity, connecting data to decisions, and coaching leaders through complex change with clarity and care.
Outside of work, Brittany enjoys life in Chicago with her two Sheepadoodles, Ollie and Ziggy. Whether she’s exploring a new neighborhood spot, planning her next run, or unwinding with friends, she brings the same curiosity, energy, and optimism to her personal life that she brings to building teams at Canopy.
Carie Beeman
Chief Revenue Officer
Carie Beeman serves as Chief Revenue Officer at Canopy Service Partners, where she leads the company’s organic growth strategy across sales, marketing, and customer experience. Known for her ability to connect data, people, and process, Carie is driving Canopy’s next chapter of scalable growth—anchored in local excellence, disciplined execution, and deep customer relationships.
Carie brings a rare combination of commercial acumen, marketing expertise, and customer experience leadership developed across the travel, construction and facilities management, and home services industries. Throughout her career, she has built high-performing teams and launched integrated growth strategies that deliver measurable results—driving market expansion, brand equity, and customer loyalty.
Outside of work, Carie enjoys time with her family, traveling, and exploring the outdoors—often with her two mini Bernedoodles in tow. Whether she’s boating, golfing, hiking a trail, discovering a new city, or simply unwinding at home, Carie brings the same passion, energy, and optimism from her personal life to leading growth at Canopy.
Grant Smith
President
Grant Smith serves as President at Canopy Service Partners, where he leads all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, partner development, and strategic growth. He plays a central role in identifying great businesses to join the Canopy family and guiding founders through every step of the partnership journey—from the first conversation to long-term integration and success. His long-term mindset and people-first approach reflect Canopy’s commitment to growth with purpose.
With prior experience in private equity, strategy consulting, and services industry M&A, Grant blends analytical rigor with strong relational skills—a rare combination that enables him to structure fair, transparent deals that unlock meaningful upside for founders, teams, and investors alike. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and began his career focusing on finance and operations strategy.
Outside the office, Grant enjoys hiking, biking & camping in the Adirondack mountains with his wife, two children, and two dogs.
Kris Birch
Midwest Market President
Kris Birch serves as Market President for the Midwest at Canopy Service Partners. As a co-founding partner of Birch Tree Care, Kris brings firsthand experience in building and scaling a successful tree care business—giving him a deep appreciation for the challenges and opportunities that come with growth.
With decades of experience in the green industry, Kris combines entrepreneurial insight with operational excellence. He’s known for his people-first leadership style, focus on culture and safety, and ability to build teams that deliver exceptional results. Today, he applies that same philosophy at Canopy—helping other founders and local leaders grow their businesses while preserving the pride and identity that make them unique.
Outside of work, Kris enjoys spending time playing and watching various sports with his family and staying close to the work that inspired his career—mentoring the next generation of arborists and growing and developing leaders. His authentic, grounded approach to leadership perfectly embodies Canopy’s mission to grow great businesses by growing great people.
Matt Van Groningen
Southeast Regional President
Matt Van Groningen serves as Regional President for the Southeast at Canopy Service Partners, where he leads a dynamic network of partner brands across a fast-growing region. He’s responsible for driving performance, strengthening operational excellence, and cultivating high-impact teams that deliver outstanding service and sustainable growth.
With a background spanning operations leadership, business development, and strategic growth in service-oriented industries, Matt brings a unique combination of hands-on experience and big-picture vision. He’s known for building scalable frameworks that empower local teams, optimizing processes to increase profitability, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.
Outside of work, Matt keeps his edge through travel, involvement at his church, and spending time with his family. His leadership style—rooted in authenticity, clarity, and collaboration—reflects the values that drive Canopy’s success.
Will Silton
Northeast Regional President
Will Silton serves as Regional President for the Northeast at Canopy Service Partners, where he leads one of the company’s fastest-growing regions. He oversees a network of partner brands united by a shared commitment to exceptional customer care, operational excellence, and team development. Will plays a key role in scaling Canopy’s regional footprint—integrating new partners, driving performance improvements, and ensuring each local business thrives within a culture of collaboration and accountability.
With a background that blends financial acumen and hands-on leadership, Will brings a thoughtful, metrics-driven approach to growth. He’s known for balancing strategic vision with pragmatic execution—empowering teams to elevate profitability, strengthen customer relationships, and deliver consistent, high-quality service across markets.
Outside of work, Will enjoys exploring New England’s lakes and mountains with his family and staying active in local community initiatives. His leadership style—rooted in trust, transparency, and teamwork—reflects the spirit of growth that defines Canopy