Leadership moves in the power tool world rarely make headlines outside the trade press, but they tell you a lot about where a brand thinks it needs to go. Chervon’s decision to promote Kevin Gee to vice president of Pro Product Development for its FLEX line is one of those quiet signals worth paying attention to, especially for contractors who have watched FLEX try to carve out space in a jobsite tool category that Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Makita have dominated for a decade.
According to Lawn & Landscape, Gee now reports directly to Chervon CEO Joe Galli and will lead product development for FLEX’s professional tool line. That is not a minor title bump. It is a bet that the playbook Gee learned inside Milwaukee’s pro tool machine can be rebuilt, faster, inside a competitor.
Why This Hire Actually Matters
Here is the part that should get a contractor’s attention: Gee did not come up through Chervon. He spent fifteen years building a career inside TTI’s Milwaukee Pro Power Tool business, starting as a field sales store rep in Toronto back in 2011 and working his way through marketing roles in Canada, Hong Kong, and Milwaukee Asia before landing stateside in 2017. From there he climbed through a string of Milwaukee product management positions, eventually becoming director of product management for Milwaukee Pro Tools from 2021 to 2023.
That is not a resume you pick up by accident. It means Gee has sat inside the room where Milwaukee decided what features ship, what gets killed, and what pro feedback actually gets acted on versus ignored. Brands chasing Milwaukee’s market share have tried for years to hire that institutional knowledge away, and Chervon just landed a direct line to it.
It is also worth noting Gee’s path was not a straight shot from Milwaukee to Chervon. He spent time as chief revenue and marketing officer at Guardian Safety Equipment before joining Chervon this year, which suggests a leader who has had to think about both product and go-to-market strategy, not just engineering roadmaps. For a brand like FLEX trying to win trust from professional crews who already have a preferred tool wall, that commercial instinct could matter as much as the technical pedigree.
What Contractors and Dealers Should Watch Next
Galli’s quote in the original piece leans hard into the idea that Gee brings “outstanding leadership skills” and “international pro tool experience,” and Gee himself talks about building “a world class pro tool product development team.” Read past the corporate phrasing and the message is simple: Chervon wants FLEX taken seriously by people who buy tools for a living, not just DIYers browsing a big box aisle.
For the pro tool category, leadership hires like this are early warning signs of where R&D dollars and marketing pushes are headed over the next product cycle.
That matters to dealers stocking shelves and contractors deciding what brand ecosystem to commit to, because battery platforms and accessory compatibility create real switching costs. If FLEX is serious about challenging the established pro brands, it will show up in the next eighteen to twenty four months of product launches, not in this press release. Watch for announcements around battery platform expansion, new trade-specific tool lines, and any hires Gee makes underneath him pulling more talent from competitors.
The bigger industry lesson here is one HG Homeclub keeps coming back to: tool brands do not win pro market share through advertising alone. They win it by hiring people who have already proven they can build what tradespeople actually want, then giving those people real authority inside the org chart. Gee reporting straight to the CEO is Chervon telling the market it is serious about this bet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is Kevin Gee?
A: Kevin Gee is a product development executive who spent fifteen years at TTI’s Milwaukee Pro Power Tool business before joining Chervon, where he was just promoted to vice president of Pro Product Development for FLEX.
Q: What is Gee’s new role at Chervon?
A: He leads Pro Product Development for the FLEX brand and reports directly to Chervon CEO Joe Galli.
Q: What did Gee do at Milwaukee Tool before joining Chervon?
A: He held multiple roles including field sales, marketing positions in Canada and Hong Kong, group marketing manager in Milwaukee Asia, and ultimately director of product management for Milwaukee Pro Tools from 2021 to 2023.
Q: Did Gee work anywhere else before Chervon?
A: Yes, he served as chief revenue and marketing officer at Guardian Safety Equipment before joining Chervon in 2026.
Q: What is FLEX in the context of this story?
A: FLEX is Chervon’s professional tool brand, and this promotion signals Chervon’s push to strengthen that line’s position in the pro tool market.
Q: Why does this leadership change matter to contractors?
A: Hiring executives with deep experience at established leaders like Milwaukee often precedes meaningful product development shifts that affect tool choices, battery platforms, and dealer offerings.
Q: What educational background does Gee have?
A: He holds an undergraduate degree and an MBA from Lakeland University in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Q: What did Chervon CEO Joe Galli say about the promotion?
A: Galli praised Gee’s international pro tool experience and leadership skills, saying he has been impressed watching Gee in action at Chervon.
Q: Where did this story originate?
A: The news was first reported by Lawn & Landscape, a trade publication covering the lawn, landscape, and outdoor power equipment industry.
