Derek Vannice
Chief Strategy Officer & President
Derek Vannice joined CNUC, now our forestry and utility division, in 2011 after decades of success at two industry-leading organizations. He is now executive vice president and chief strategy officer of environmental services for Wright Service Corp. and the chief strategy officer and president of Eocene Environmental Group, overseeing all divisions.
Derek obtained his Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in 1984 before continuing to complete his Master of Business Administration from Ball State University in 1992. He worked as a division right-of-way (ROW) maintenance supervisor for AEP and then moved into his roles as an International Society of Arboriculture director of certification and Utility Arborist Association executive director.
As president of CNUC, Derek oversaw the strong growth of the company, headed long-term contracts, and provided onsite consulting and training with clients. To add to his impressive resume, he also served on the review committee of the original and first revision of the ISA Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) Best Management Practices (BMP), as well as the Utility Pruning BMP. In his role as UAA executive director, he served as the primary spokesperson for the utility arboriculture industry and provided expert testimony in regulatory hearings at the state and federal levels. Derek also served as chair of the ROW Stewardship Council, an accreditation program for the BMP in IVM on transmission ROW, from 2010 until he stepped down in 2022.
When Derek isn’t at work, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling and reading.