Welcome to Tournesol
 

For the better part of the last decade, we’ve introduced ourselves as the company at the intersection of landscape and architecture. Today, our brand is centered around relationships, trust, and delivery - striving to make our contractor customers and specifier partners successful!  

2020 has been a year of change and it’s not over yet. Now, more than ever, connecting with people is so important. It starts by listening, asking questions, and caring. At Tournesol, we’d like to introduce ourselves and let you get to know us a little better so that we can expand our working relationships and strive to exceed your expectations. We hope you enjoy meeting our team of trusted advisors.


John Denman, National Sales Manager

John Denman

Let’s start with John Denman, our National Sales Manager, who’s  been with Tournesol for over a decade. John is passionate about his leadership role, mentoring his team to do their best, and to always put the customer first. He and his team thrive on working closely with designers, to help bring a vision to life. As John says, “I’m especially excited to work on projects that push boundaries and make us reach beyond the easy to achieve the extraordinary.”

John is someone who enjoys pushing himself to the limit both physically and mentally. He’s a cyclist and mountain biker, he rides most weekends and can proudly boast that he has twice completed the Mammoth Gran Fondo (a week-long cycling trip up the Rhine, from Strasbourg to Lake Constance) - wow!

Abby Butler

Abby Butler is our Regional Sales Manager for the Midwest-West and South-Central states and is the newest member of our sales team. She has lived in the Dallas Fort Worth area of Texas all her life. Abby has shared that she is excited to be part of Tournesol and is “thankful for the wealth of knowledge and experience that the team is willing to share with me. The culture is amazing, and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this team.”

Outside of work, Abby has two children that keep her busy with sports games, and a passion for watching them thrive at playing the sports they love. She spends time frequently traveling to her daughter’s soccer tournaments locally and across the country. This adds to her enthusiasm for travel and learning more about different cultures, customs, and history. Her favorite foods are Italian and Mexican dishes, that she enjoys working off through Yoga or riding Peloton. Go Abby!

Connect with Abby -  abutler@tournesol.com


Abby Butler, Regional Sales Manager, Midwest-West, South-Central States


Melissa Zepeda, Regional Sales Manager, Southern California, Las Vegas, NV

Melissa Zepeda

Melissa Zepeda is our Regional Sales Manager for Southern California. She is inspired and driven by finding new opportunities to learn and grow, and she’s quickly learned how to thrive at Tournesol. Melissa is passionate about Tournesol’s products for her creative and talented customers, knowing that she can provide solutions to various challenges that come with designing commercial outdoor spaces.

In her personal life, Melissa carries her passion for learning with her as she travels, seeking new cultural influences in art, food, and history. Melissa says, “As a relative newlywed, I work hard to find opportunities to create exciting memories with my new family. Visiting the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, white water rafting, and traversing Fossil Rim Wildlife Center have been a few of our recent adventures…priceless.”

Connect with Melissa -  mzepeda@tournesol.com

Brian Mitalo

Brian Mitalo is Team Lead and Regional Sales Manager for the Midwest-East and Southeast. Brian has managed various regions in his 16 years with Tournesol, and continues to be amazed at the beautiful, creative spaces our talented customers design. In his career, Brian is inspired and driven by problem solving and presenting the best possible solutions for our customers’ designs. He enjoys the challenge of figuring out the correct dimensions, details, and product configurations.

This carries over into his personal life, as he enjoys remodeling and constructing projects for his home and yard, in Florida, while avoiding the alligators that hang out near his property – yikes!

Connect with Brian -  bmitalo@tournesol.com


Brian Mitalo, Team Lead, Regional Sales Manager, Midwest-East and Southeast


Catherine LeDuke, Regional Sales Manager, Northwest, Mountain States, Western Canada

Catherine LeDuke

Catherine LeDuke is our Regional Sales Manager for the Northwest, Mountain States, and Western Canada. She cheerfully enjoys sharing our range of products, both standard and custom, and digging in deep to help customers find the best solutions to meet their design goals. Catherine has developed a solid understanding of the outdoors and outdoor spaces as she has resided in Colorado for most of her life.

In her personal life, Opera music makes her heart sing. Catherine worked at the Houston Opera House years ago, and says, “It’s amazing to sit a few feet from an opera star singing full out in a rehearsal room. I cued Placido Domingo to enter stage left: ‘Mr. Domingo…go!’” What an experience!

Connect with Catherine -  cleduke@tournesol.com

Troy Nottingham

Troy Nottingham is our Regional Sales Manager for Northern California and has worked with Tournesol for six years. He enjoys assisting and supporting specifiers and contractors with designs that maximize the use of outdoor spaces and enrich people’s lives. Troy thrives on being part of the team on a project, working towards helping our customers meet their goals.

Troy is enthusiastic about the outdoors, he enjoys planning trips to new areas and seeking new adventures. Like many others, he is driven by the good life, learning about other cultures, being able to hear the language of others, trying local flavors, and listening to different kinds of music.

Connect with Troy -  tnottingham@tournesol.com


Troy Nottingham, Regional Sales Manager, Northern California


Jim Dowd, Regional Sales Manager, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

Jim Dowd

Jim Dowd is our Regional Sales Manager for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and is naturally a competitive person. Jim thrives on helping specifiers and customers build their projects and designs and watching them come to life. The customer relationships that Jim builds continue to grow as he closely communicates about products and materials to ensure his customers are successful.

Jim’s competitive nature carries over into his personal life as he has raised two children who excel at softball and wrestling sports. Jim thrives while spending his time golfing, deep sea fishing, boating, auto racing (former Asphalt Modified team owner), gardening, and many other outdoor adventures.

Connect with Jim  -  jdowd@tournesol.com

Want to learn more about Tournesol products and help with our effort to support people in need?  Learn more about our Connect+Learn=Give campaign.

Connect + Learn = Give

"Tournesol" is French for "sunflower". While you are growing your business, check out our tips on growing sunflowers.

Growing Sunflowers