From Cleaner to Chief Development Officer: Tom Kruse on Leading With Humility and Earning Client Trust

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In this episode of the BSCAI podcast, Tom Kruse, Chief Development Officer at Marsden Holding, LLC, shares his insights on customer engagement and retention. Drawing from his early days as a frontline cleaner, Tom emphasizes the importance of leading with humility and staying connected to the people behind the service. He outlines his framework for success — paying attention, ensuring competence, and showing care — not just to customers, but to employees as well. With experience acquiring dozens of companies, Tom also discusses how to maintain consistent service and values during times of transition.

Tom Kruse is responsible for Marsden’s strategy development and execution for mergers and acquisitions. He oversees all of Marsden’s mergers and acquisition efforts and during his tenure at Marsden, has been responsible for over 45 acquisitions. Kruse specializes in identifying companies whose interests and values align with Marsden and creating mutually beneficial deals. Marsden Holding is a privately held $600M integrated facility services firm with 63 offices in 25 states while serving all 50 states. Marsden focuses on small market acquisition opportunities with revenues in the $5M to $80M range.Before coming to Marsden, Kruse owned and operated Scioto Services, an industrial and commercial services firm. He became a Marsden employee when he sold Scioto Services to Marsden in 2005 giving him a 360 degree view of the M&A process.