Franklin-based Lee Company is keeping the corner office in the family. The facilities and home-services firm, founded by the Lee family, will promote Caleb Lee to chief executive officer effective Aug. 1, 2026. Current CEO Richard Perko is scheduled to step down on July 31, 2026 under a planned succession, handing the reins to the governor’s son at a company that manages major commercial and residential projects across Tennessee and neighboring states.
According to WSMV, Lee Company has framed the move as a leadership transition, saying Caleb Lee, son of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, will formally assume the CEO role on Aug. 1, 2026. The station reports the company employs nearly 2,000 people, making this more than just a ceremonial title change.
Who Is Caleb Lee?
Per Lee Company, Caleb joined the firm in July 2013 as a project engineer and moved up through design and smart-buildings roles over the next decade. Before being named vice president of FM2 & Smart Buildings in 2025, his internal biography lists stints as director of project design and estimating and senior director of smart buildings, where he led controls and building automation teams. Company materials present his promotion as the latest step in a long-running internal succession path. For those keeping score at home, that means he has been climbing the ladder there for more than a decade.
Perko’s Tenure And The Handoff
According to Equilar, Richard Perko started at Lee Company in 1996, was elevated to president in 2009 and took on the CEO title in 2016. That timeline tracks his rise from project engineer to the top job over several decades. The leadership change, publicly described as planned, sets up a clean handoff on Aug. 1, 2026, when Perko steps aside and Caleb Lee steps in.
Local Footprint And What To Watch
Lee Company is a sizable regional employer. Its LinkedIn page lists headquarters at 4057 Rural Plains Cir in Franklin and places company size in the 1,001 to 5,000 employee range. With the firm handling large facilities and construction projects across multiple states, clients and contractors will be watching to see whether the executive switch alters ongoing work or top-level priorities. Expect the public leadership listings and corporate materials to shift as the Aug. 1 transition date approaches.
Caleb Lee’s elevation brings a new generation into leadership at a long-standing family business closely tied to Tennessee’s business community. We will update this report as Lee Company or the governor’s office releases further details ahead of the planned August handoff.
