Background

Lex Kendall is a serial founder with a track record of building and operating businesses in complex, regulated, and high-traffic physical environments. He co-founded New Stand in 2014 and spent over a decade scaling it into a multi-channel retail and concessions platform operating across 13 international airport locations, 35 New York City ferry boats, the NYC subway system, universities, and an international retail presence in Tokyo. As founder-operator, he owned the full business end-to-end: operations, store and product development, design, fundraising, team leadership, and commercial strategy. More recently, he launched Seeker, a strategy, advisory, and acquisitions platform where he advises founders and operators across software, manufacturing, infrastructure, supply chain, and construction businesses at moments of scale, restructuring, or strategic decision-making.

Why American Operator

What draws Lex to American Operator is the same thing that defined his work at New Stand: a belief that physical businesses built around real communities deserve serious, committed ownership. His experience navigating highly complex operational environments, evaluating acquisition opportunities, and aligning capital with long-term ownership goals maps directly onto what American Operator does at the portfolio level. He brings a founder’s instinct for execution, a strategic advisor’s lens on value creation, and deep expertise across construction, modular structures, supply chain, and distribution, making him a strong diligence partner for deals where operational complexity is the defining variable.