Our Team

Steve Upshaw

Steve Upshaw was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Hometown Services in October 2024. Mr. Upshaw brings more than 25 years of experience in consumer services and nearly a decade of home services leadership. In his role, Mr. Upshaw is focused on setting the corporate vision and strategy while driving overall company growth.

Prior to joining Hometown Services, Mr. Upshaw served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cinch Home Services, a privately held home warranty company. Under his leadership, the company more than doubled in size, underwent significant digital transformation, and became a leading provider of home service contracts in the U.S.

Mark Gandy

Mark Gandy joined HomeTown Services in February of 2026. Mark brings over 30 years of senior finance experience across energy and industrial services, having served as CFO of companies ranging from $75 million to $1.5 billion in revenue. His track record spans capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, treasury management, and operational transformation.

Mark holds an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Trinity University. He began his career at NationsBank of Texas and has since built deep expertise across private equity-backed environments, investment banking, capital markets, and cross-border operations.

Ray Pickens

Ray Pickens serves as Chief Operating Officer at HomeTown Services, where he leads operational performance, execution strategy, and field leadership across the South-Central division, including Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Atlanta. Ray joined Hometown Services in 2025 and has more than 30 years of experience in multi-unit service operations.

Ray is known for building high-performing teams, instilling operational discipline, and driving scalable growth while preserving the local identity of each brand. He began his career as an automotive technician and went on to hold senior roles at Monro, Fullspeed Automotive, and America’s Car-Mart—overseeing more than 700 locations and integrating over 30 acquisitions.

Nate Philippsen

Nate Philippsen joined Hometown Services in June of 2025. He has over 18 years of sales, marketing, and operations experience. As Chief Marketing Officer, Nate is responsible for sales, marketing, and contact center strategy and performance.

Prior to joining Hometown Services, Nate has held various leadership positions, most recently as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Sun Communities, Inc (NYSE: SUI). He was responsible for all sales, marketing, and call center support for Sun’s brands and locations in the US & Canada. This included Sun Communities’ 354 residential communities. Sun Outdoors’ 160 RV & camping resorts, and Camp Jellystone’s 75 franchise RV & camping resorts. Nate holds degrees from Purdue University and the Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts.

Denise Kestner

Denise Kestner joined Hometown Services in June of 2025. Denise brings more than 28 years of experience in the Human Resources discipline. In her role as Chief Human Resources Officer, she is both a strategist as well as a people champion, balancing long-term organizational goals with day-to-day workforce needs.

Prior to joining Hometown Services, Denise served as Vice President of Human Resources for CollisionRight, a privately held automotive collision repair company. While in this role, the company grew from a single brand to more than 30 brands, operating in 12 states with nearly 2,000 employees.

Ms. Kestner holds graduate degrees from the University of Florida as well as The Ohio State University.

Allison Knight

Allison Knight serves as Senior Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Strategy at HomeTown Services. She brings nearly 20 years of experience in strategy, finance, and operations, with expertise in corporate development, M&A, and transformational growth.

Prior to joining HomeTown, she founded and led Elevate Strategy Solutions, a consulting and advisory practice. She previously spent more than a decade in senior strategy leadership roles with CPG companies Dean Foods and Saputo Inc. (TSE: SAP), where she ultimately served as Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Responsibility for Saputo’s $6B U.S. division. Earlier in her career, she worked in investment banking at Citigroup before moving into private equity with Brazos Private Equity Partners. Allison holds a BBA in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.