J. Lyell Clarke III
J. Lyell Clarke is Chairman of The Clarke Group.
Lyell served Clarke as president and CEO for close to three decades, taking the helm in 1996, and assumed the Chairman position in 2020. He passed the Presidency and CEO position to Allen Gent on January 1, 2024.
While leading his family’s company, Lyell has directed Clarke on a journey towards greener, more sustainable products and practices and fostered a purpose-driven culture. Under his tenure, Clarke was transformed from a regional mosquito control service provider to the world’s largest company dedicated to public health vector control innovation. His legacy includes the development of groundbreaking mosquito control products like Natular® larvicides and Cielo® Space Spray, which was the first new mode of action chemistry launched for global vector control in nearly 40 years. He also led Clarke in pioneering EarthRight®, the most sustainable, reduced carbon footprint mosquito control service program available, utilizing OMRI Listed® products approved for organic farms and gardens and electric vehicles, bicycles and remote surveillance technologies.
Furthermore, he has advanced Clarke’s commitment to corporate social responsibility by establishing the Clarke Cares Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to saving lives and reducing suffering from mosquito-borne diseases.
In addition to his Chairmanship of The Clarke Group, Lyell serves on three boards that allow him to help other small-to-medium-sized companies recognize and harness their potential for positive impact on people and the planet: The Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH; privately held Weigel’s Farm Stores, Inc. based in Powell, TN; and Ball Horticultural in West Chicago, IL.
Lyell earned his Bachelor of Science in Entomology from the University of Kentucky and received his Ph.D. in Entomology from Iowa State University. He began his career with Clarke as a Control Consultant in 1986, and after gaining a solid grounding in the business, he became the company’s vice president. In 1996, upon his father’s retirement, he stepped into the role of President and CEO, and assumed the Chairman role for The Clarke group in 2020, following the passing of his mother, Mrs. Mary Kemp Clarke.
