HG HomeClub

Three Lists, One Mission: HG HomeClub Releases Its Rankings of the 25 Most Influential Publications, Podcasts and Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

By HG HomeClub October 1, 2026 39 min read

This October, the national media platform built on “informed transparency” names the trade publications contractors trust, the podcasts owners learn from, and the leaders shaping these industries in the right way, bringing 75 recognitions together in one release so the whole industry can see who is moving it forward.

TAMPA, Fla. — Oct. 1, 2026 — HG HomeClub, the national media platform serving the home improvement, home services and outdoor living industries, today announced the release of three editorial lists this October:

  • The Top 25 Most Influential Publications and Media Platforms Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living
  • The Top 25 Most Influential Podcasts Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living
  • The Top 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

Together, the three lists recognize 75 organizations, shows and people. They cover roofing, remodeling, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, lawn care, pest control, pools, decking, windows and doors, kitchen and bath, building products, distribution, retail, franchising, technology, private capital, media and the associations that bring the trades together.

Qualified Remodeler leads the publications list. The Home Service Expert, hosted by Tommy Mello, leads the podcasts list. The leaders list has no No. 1 at all. It is presented alphabetically, because HG HomeClub does not believe the people on it should be set against one another. Every leader is recognized equally.

The lists also share something that only shows up when you read them side by side. Many of the same names keep appearing. The host of the No. 1 podcast is on the leaders list. The company that topped the industry’s two biggest revenue rankings this year is led by a leader on the list. The platform at No. 3 among publications produces the podcast at No. 3 among podcasts, and its founder is named among the leaders. Influence in these industries is connected, and these three lists show how.

Why Is HG HomeClub Releasing Three Lists at the Same Time?

Because a contractor does not learn from one place.

A remodeler reads a trade magazine on Monday, listens to an owner-to-owner podcast in the truck on Tuesday, and watches how a national chief executive talks about the trades on Wednesday. A home-service owner deciding whether to hire, buy a competitor, adopt new software or sell the business draws on all three kinds of influence at once: the publications that report the facts, the podcasts that explain how other owners handled the same decision and the leaders whose choices set the market everyone else works in.

Releasing the lists together gives the industry one clear map of that whole system. Each list stands on its own, with its own standards and its own story. Read together, they show who informs the industry, who teaches it, and who leads it.

From Too Much Noise to Real Signal: How Did HG HomeClub Come Up With These Lists?

HG HomeClub was created to answer a problem anyone in home improvement media knows well. There is more content than ever, and it is harder than ever to tell what is worth your time.

The platform was built to champion media back to its original purpose: informed transparency. That means better decisions follow from better information, and the people making those decisions deserve to see how a judgment was reached instead of simply being handed a verdict.

To do that, HG HomeClub curates the top stories, headlines, rankings, videos, podcasts, webinars, events and professional recommendations across home improvement, home services and outdoor living, and presents them in one easy-to-use destination for homeowners and professionals alike.

Curation naturally led to a harder question. If HG HomeClub is going to point people toward the best information in the industry, it has to be willing to say, in public and with its standards on the table, which sources really are the best. That question became three lists.

The first asked which podcasts actually help owners run better companies. The second asked which magazines, websites, research programs and events genuinely change how companies are run. The third asked who the people are whose decisions, platforms and voices are shaping these industries in the right way.

What Is the Mission Behind HG HomeClub’s Rankings?

The mission is simple: help both homeowners and professionals make better-informed decisions.

For homeowners, that means pointing toward the platforms, voices and leaders who hold the industry to a higher standard. For contractors, it means saving time. An owner with limited hours can use these lists to decide which publications to read, which shows to follow and which leaders to learn from.

The rankings are editorial. No placement on any of the three lists was purchased, sponsored or solicited, and no organization or person on a list took part in deciding its own position. HG HomeClub publishes its standards next to its rankings so that every reader can judge the reasoning for themselves.

What Standards Did HG HomeClub Use for Each List?

Each list was built for a different kind of influence, so each has its own standards.

For publications and media platforms, HG HomeClub weighed six standards: industry influence and professional recognition; practical value to contractors and company owners; quality and depth of original content; reach among professional decision-makers; strength of rankings, research, events and recognition programs; and the ability to educate and connect the contractor community. This is not a ranking of website traffic, social-media followers, advertising volume or the age of a masthead. Longevity and circulation were considered, but they did not automatically outweigh usefulness to contractors. Specialized publications were judged within the markets they serve.

For podcasts, the six standards were practical value to contractors and company owners; influence and recognition within the industry; the quality and credibility of hosts and guests; depth and originality of the conversations; consistency, longevity and accessibility; and reach across audio, video, social media and industry events. Download counts were not the yardstick, because they are reported unevenly and are rarely independently verified across the podcast industry.

For leaders, HG HomeClub looked at the scale of the enterprise each leader commands, the pace of growth achieved under their leadership, the reach of their books, keynotes and platforms, and the strength of their voice across the industry. Because these leaders build influence in such different ways, the list is presented alphabetically, with no numerical ranking.

List One: The Top 25 Most Influential Publications and Media Platforms Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

HG HomeClub Top 25 Most Influential Publications and Media Platforms in the home improvement, home services and outdoor living space

The professional media landscape is changing. Long-established publications still deliver real value through technical education, industry news, research and company recognition. Newer platforms are widening the definition of trade media by combining journalism with video, independent evaluations, executive storytelling and professional communities.

The publications list honors both. Its top four show the range: a remodeling institution, a roofing authority, an independent ranking platform and an HVACR publication that has just reached its 100th year.

No. 1: How Did Qualified Remodeler Become the Industry’s Scoreboard?

Qualified Remodeler was first published in March 1975, when residential remodeling was not yet treated as its own profession. It was the first magazine dedicated to serving residential remodelers, and its founder, Dave Sauer, was among the group that helped launch the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. In 1980, Dave Sauer helped pioneer the idea of bringing non-competing remodelers together to share numbers and practices, the model behind nearly every remodeling peer group operating today.

That start explains a posture the publication has never lost. “Since 1975, Qualified Remodeler has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with remodeling and home improvement professionals around the country,” the brand says. “Then as now, our mission is to foster professionalism among our readers by offering industry relevant business education and information.”

Today Qualified Remodeler is owned by SOLA Group Inc. and reaches more than 83,000 remodeling professionals through a BPA-audited circulation, serving owners and executives in what it describes as a $600 billion residential remodeling industry.

Its greatest source of influence is the TOP 500, published every year since 1978 and the oldest continuously published revenue ranking in the sector. The 2026 edition, the 48th, brought the first change at the top in more than 20 years: Leaf Home took No. 1 with $2.53 billion in remodeling gross sales. Owners use the ranking to benchmark, recruit, raise capital and price acquisitions. Placing on it has become a commercial credential.

The publication built events around that scoreboard. TOP 500 LIVE has become the premier business-management conference for the home improvement industry, and it earned Qualified Remodeler a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Brand-Related Event, one of the highest honors in business-to-business journalism. Its 2026 edition runs Oct. 26 to 28 in Las Vegas. FAST Remodeler Live is the industry’s only technology-focused conference for remodelers. The Master Design Awards have honored outstanding projects for 48 years, and the quarterly U.S. Remodeler Index, produced with John Burns Research and Consulting, is read across the housing economy as a leading signal.

“Technology and AI present tremendous opportunity, but the sheer volume of tools and platforms can be overwhelming,” said Patrick O’Toole, publisher, editorial director and co-owner of SOLA Group Inc. “FAST provides a focused, practical environment where remodelers can cut through the noise, stay current, and make smarter decisions.”

HG HomeClub placed Qualified Remodeler first because it is the only brand on the list that is at once the oldest publication in its field, the operator of its defining ranking, the host of its leading owner conferences, the publisher of its top design award and a co-producer of its quarterly economic index. Fifty-one years after its first issue, Patrick O’Toole still states the mission in one line: “Our aim is to serve the industry by offering business solutions.”

No. 2: Why Does the Roofing Industry Measure Itself Against Roofing Contractor?

Roofing Contractor began in 1981 as a magazine for contractors, written by contractors. It was founded by the owner of a roofing and metal company, with a founding editor who grew up in a roofing family. That inside-the-business voice never left. Under BNP Media, the fourth-generation, family-run company that has operated since 1926, it grew into the top independent national publication serving roofing.

The brand set its own terms long ago, and they still hold: “This publication will always be about serving the contractor. We don’t want that to change, and we’ll rely on you and our growing audience to help ensure that it doesn’t.”

Its flagship is the Top 100 Roofing Contractors ranking, released each summer. The list has grown from a simple directory into a barometer for the health of the whole roofing industry, tracking private equity consolidation, labor pressure and technology adoption. In 2026, Leaf Home led it with more than $2 billion in roofing and gutter revenue, becoming the first company ever to top both the Roofing Contractor Top 100 and the Qualified Remodeler TOP 500 in the same year.

The live side of the brand is Best of Success, launched in 2003 by group publisher Jill Bloom. The 2025 edition drew more than 500 contractors, manufacturers and leaders, and the 22nd annual conference runs Dec. 7 to 9, 2026, in Bonita Springs, Florida. The publication also runs Contractor of the Year honors and Young Guns in Roofing, a program built around the trade’s biggest long-term question: who leads next.

Roofing Contractor is also the official publication of the International Roofing Expo, whose 2026 show in Las Vegas was the largest in its history. Its annual State of the Industry report asks the people who know roofing best, the contractors, what is really happening. “Roofing Contractor once again sought input from the people who know the industry best: roofing contractors,” wrote editor-in-chief Art Aisner.

Few publications hold this much influence within one contractor category. Inside roofing, no title on the list ranks higher.

No. 3: What Happens When a Ranking Platform Refuses to Sell Placement?

Power100 is the youngest brand near the top of the publications list, and it finished ahead of 22 established titles for one reason: it set out to fix how professional recognition works.

Power100 ranks the top chief executives, companies and strategic partners across home improvement, home services and outdoor living. There is no fee to apply, no fee to be considered and no pay-to-play path into the rankings. Placement cannot be purchased, and advertising does not decide position. Power100 also does not wait for companies to nominate themselves. It studies the whole qualified marketplace, which gives strong but lesser-known businesses a path to recognition that does not depend on a large marketing budget.

The engine behind it is a five-layer proprietary ranking system that combines data, algorithmic scoring, review by industry veterans, cross-checks of customer, partner and employee feedback and a final ranking. Its three pillars are Growth, Culture and Community, under a six-word standard: “No vanity metrics. No pay-to-play.” The Power100 database holds more than 360,000 leaders and companies, and the system narrows that pool to the National Power Rankings of the top 100 home improvement chief executives, a vetted list of Preferred Partners and six national honors awarded on character rather than volume.

The 2026 rankings placed James Freeman of PJ Fitzpatrick at No. 1 in the nation, followed by Peter Svedin of Lifetime Home Remodeling, Paul Dietzler of Expo Home Improvement, Andy Lindus of Lindus Construction and Jeff Gunhus of Home Genius Exteriors.

“Traditional rankings rewarded whoever spent the most on marketing,” said Greg Cummings, founder and chief executive officer of Power100. “Our 5-layer system rewards the people who do things the right way, the CEOs and contractors who build cultures, over-deliver for homeowners, and create businesses that last.”

Around the rankings sits a full media network: executive features, Expert Contributors who publish their own playbooks, an advisory board of operators, an on-demand library with programming from more than 90 shows and the PowerChat interview series, which separately lands at No. 3 on the podcasts list.

HG HomeClub placed Power100 third because the ranking gives real weight to independent evaluation and usefulness to decision-makers. It addresses a long-standing weakness in industry recognition: many deserving companies never apply for awards or pay submission fees. Power100 finds them anyway. “Great companies have great leaders,” Greg Cummings has said. “There’s no exception to that rule.”

No. 4: How Has ACHR NEWS Stayed Essential to HVACR for 100 Years?

ACHR NEWS published its first issue on Sept. 11, 1926, as Electric Refrigeration News, which means this fall it reached its 100th year. Few publications in any industry can say that.

Its name changed as the industry changed. It became Air Conditioning and Refrigeration News in 1936 as comfort cooling grew, then The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration NEWS in 1958 as heating became part of every contractor’s business. Through every era, it has described itself the same way: “the HVACR contractors’ most trusted news magazine.” Like Roofing Contractor, it is published by BNP Media.

ACHR NEWS covers residential and commercial HVACR contracting, equipment, refrigerants, regulations, energy management, workforce issues and company operations, delivered through print and digital editions, newsletters, podcasts, webinars and video. It is a fixture at the AHR Expo, where manufacturers, distributors, engineers and contractors meet around the technology changing the market.

What sets it apart near the top of this list is how it makes the industry’s people visible. Its HVAC All-Star Awards honor contracting businesses, products, educators, podcasters and industry legends. Its Top 40 Under 40 recognizes the next generation coming up through manufacturing, distribution, instruction and contracting. Its Women in HVAC coverage and HVAC Technician Spotlight give individual professionals a public reason to see a lasting career in the trade. In an industry where succession and skilled-worker development are constant business issues, that work matters.

The editorial team, led by publisher Sarah Harding and editorial director Kyle Gargaro, reports across field service, design, regulation, distribution and ownership. The publication earned two Tabbie Awards for its COVID-19 coverage, when contractors needed clear, usable information fast.

Heat pumps, refrigerant transitions, electrification, connected systems and AI-enabled business tools are changing HVACR at once. In that market, dependable trade media becomes more valuable, not less. HG HomeClub found ACHR NEWS to be one of the most dependable and authoritative information sources available to HVACR professionals, with a legacy that is still working rather than ceremonial.

The Complete List: The Top 25 Most Influential Publications and Media Platforms Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

  1. Qualified Remodeler — Residential remodeling, exterior replacement and home improvement
  2. Roofing Contractor — Residential and commercial roofing
  3. Power100 — Independent rankings and executive leadership across home improvement, home services and outdoor living
  4. ACHR NEWS — Heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration
  5. Pro Remodeler — Residential remodeling, replacement contracting and design-build
  6. Lawn & Landscape — Landscaping, lawn care and outdoor services
  7. Journal of Light Construction — Residential construction and remodeling
  8. Electrical Contractor Magazine — Electrical construction, codes, safety and business operations
  9. Contracting Business — HVACR business management and profitability
  10. CONTRACTOR Magazine — Plumbing, heating, hydronics and mechanical contracting
  11. Pool & Spa News — Pool construction, service, retail and design
  12. Builder — Residential construction, housing economics and large homebuilders
  13. Fine Homebuilding — Residential construction, remodeling and craftsmanship
  14. Landscape Management — Landscaping, lawn care and grounds management
  15. Pest Management Professional — Pest control education and business operations
  16. Green Industry Pros — Landscaping, lawn care, equipment and operations
  17. Professional Roofing — Roofing technology, safety, regulation and association issues
  18. Kitchen & Bath Design News — Kitchen and bath design, remodeling and products
  19. Pro Builder — Homebuilding and residential construction
  20. Window + Door — Windows, doors, fenestration and manufacturing
  21. RoofersCoffeeShop — Roofing education, multimedia and professional community
  22. LBM Journal — Lumber, building materials and distribution
  23. Deck Specialist — Decking, railing and outdoor-living construction
  24. Irrigation & Lighting — Irrigation, landscape lighting and water management
  25. Patio & Hearth Products Report — Patio, hearth, grilling and outdoor-living products

List Two: The Top 25 Most Influential Podcasts Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

The TOP 25 Most Influential Podcasts in the Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

Podcasts have become one of the most valuable classrooms in the trades. The best shows give contractors direct access to experienced operators, chief executives, technicians, sales leaders, marketers and investors who understand what it really takes to build a service business. Some deliver tactics on pricing, recruiting and profitability. Others go deep on culture, leadership, technology or craftsmanship.

The top four show four different ways to teach: an operator who shows his own math, two sitting chief executives comparing notes, an interview series built inside an independent ranking platform and a systems-first program built to free owners from being the bottleneck.

No. 1: What Makes The Home Service Expert the Most Influential Podcast in the Trades?

Most business podcasts in the trades are built by someone who sells services to contractors. The Home Service Expert is built by someone who runs a contracting company. Tommy Mello founded A1 Garage Door Service in 2007 and still leads it, which means the tactics on the show are usually ones he is using right now, has recently dropped or paid to learn.

His story gives every episode weight. Tommy Mello started A1 Garage Door Service with roughly $50,000 in debt. Today it employs more than 1,000 team members across 36 markets in 18 states and is one of the largest independently owned garage door service companies in North America, and the portfolio of companies he has built generates more than $250 million in annual revenue.

The show is known for publishing the failure next to the framework. “My biggest challenge, and it’s not everybody’s, but I know how to make a lot of revenue. I just didn’t know how to keep a lot of it,” Tommy Mello has said. The fix became the phrase listeners now repeat: “Focus on one, get so big at one, then you can take on a new branch. ‘Nail it and scale it,’ is what I say.”

The Home Service Expert has published since January 2018, about twice a week, building an archive of more than 500 episodes. It runs in three modes: long-form interviews built around one problem, “Q&A with Tommy” episodes that work like open office hours for owners, and field reports that take apart recent decisions inside A1 Garage Door Service with the numbers attached. Its video library has passed 1.1 million views, and it carries a 4.7-star rating on Apple Podcasts.

HG HomeClub placed the show at No. 1 for its combination of operator credibility, guest quality, industry visibility and direct relevance to owners trying to build larger and more profitable service businesses. For an owner working through a specific problem, its back catalog works like a reference library.

No. 2: Why Do Owners Trust a Show Hosted by Two Working CEOs?

Owned and Operated is not produced by a software company, a coaching firm or a consultancy. It is a byproduct of two people running companies. John Wilson is chief executive of The Wilson Companies, the third-generation Ohio home-services group he has expanded across plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, restoration and septic work. Jack Carr is chief executive of Rapid Response Heating & Cooling, the Nashville-area company he acquired in 2022 and has grown through follow-on deals.

“I wanted to create a resource that would have shortened my learning curve when I first started in the business,” John Wilson has said. “We talk about the industry, our own business and lessons learned along the way.”

Since 2021, the show has published twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday, with no break, building an archive of nearly 400 episodes and a video library of more than 1,600 videos. Episodes usually take one operating problem apart: a stalled close rate, a call center losing bookings, a first acquisition, a move to a second location. Because sponsorship funds the show instead of a parent company, the hosts are free to name the tools they use and the ones they have abandoned.

John Wilson took over his family’s business at 25 and has grown The Wilson Companies from $3 million to more than $40 million in revenue, with more than 200 employees and operations across multiple states. His view of growth stays simple: “The only way you grow a business is with more leads, and the only way you service those leads is with more people.” His view of leadership runs against industry habit: “Our success rate for promotions from within is like 90%.” Jack Carr adds the search-and-acquire path, with four acquisitions across two verticals and two seven-figure exits behind him.

HG HomeClub found Owned and Operated to be one of the strongest operator-led podcasts in the trades, with an unusually open look at what it takes to grow, acquire and manage substantial home-service companies. Its message is the line John Wilson keeps coming back to: “You can build something big from something small.”

No. 3: How Does PowerChat Turn an Independent Ranking Into a Conversation?

PowerChat is the national leadership interview series produced by Power100 and hosted by Greg Cummings. Its mission is to “Redefine the Industry Standard,” and its guest list, in its own words, “focuses on the Nation’s best Home Remodeler CEOs and their Partners, Manufacturers and Clients.”

What makes the show different is where its guests come from. They are identified through Power100‘s independent evaluation, not a pay-to-play booking model. The interviews are part of that evaluation. “We interview CEOs on site with a feature piece and then we also go and interview their executive team,” Greg Cummings has explained. “Again, this is a part of the evaluation verification process.” That changes the questions and the candor of the answers.

Many episodes are recorded on location at company events instead of in a studio, which lets the show capture a culture firsthand. The series is published across audio on Spotify, video on the Power100 YouTube channel and the Power100 on-demand library, with 70 video episodes and counting.

The guest list reads like a map of the industry’s best operators and partners: James Freeman of PJ Fitzpatrick, Andy Lindus of Lindus Construction, Nick Richmond of Matrix Home Solutions, Nick Zindel of ZINTEX Remodeling Group, Joe Swett of Sunrise Irrigation and Sprinklers, Julian Scadden of Nexstar Network, Dominic Caminata of Grosso University and Jamey Vumback of Get The Referral. Contractor chief executives, manufacturers, technology providers and coaches share the same stage, which is how the industry actually works and how few shows are built.

When Greg Cummings interviewed James Freeman at a PJ Fitzpatrick team party in Delaware, he closed with a line that sums up the whole series: “You heard it here, CEO James Freeman, the number one ranked leader in the country for a lot of great reasons. This here is one of them.”

HG HomeClub placed PowerChat at No. 3 because it brings together independent industry intelligence, executive access and conversations about the things that decide long-term company quality: growth, culture and community.

No. 4: How Does Contractor Evolution Help Owners Build a Company That Runs Without Them?

Contractor Evolution, hosted by Danny Kerr, co-founder of Breakthrough Academy, treats growth as an organizational design challenge. Its central question never changes: what system, behavior or leadership standard must exist for a company to grow without making its owner the permanent bottleneck?

Many podcasts diagnose contractor problems well. Owners are stretched thin, crews are hard to hire, margins are tight and marketing keeps changing. Contractor Evolution keeps bringing the discussion back to the structure underneath those problems: organizational charts, roles, recruiting, scorecards, meeting rhythms, job costing, cash flow, sales process and the jump from great technician to first-time manager.

The show launched in 2020 and publishes weekly, with an archive of more than 280 episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the Breakthrough Academy YouTube channel, which has drawn nearly 3 million views. Breakthrough Academy reports a community of more than 40,000 contractors, which gives the show a real feedback loop: its ideas are tested by the same kinds of businesses expected to use them.

Guests have included Cameron Herold, the business-growth and operations expert; Aaron Witt, founder of BuildWitt; Greg Shove, founder of Section AI; and Matt Risinger, founder of The Build Show Network, whose own show also appears on this list. The mix makes a point: a hiring problem becomes a training problem, then a production problem, then a margin problem. Growth is never one department.

HG HomeClub called Contractor Evolution one of the industry’s best podcasts for owners who need to build systems, develop managers and create a company that does not depend on one person.

The Complete List: The Top 25 Most Influential Podcasts Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

  1. The Home Service Expert — Hosted by Tommy Mello
  2. Owned and Operated — Hosted by John Wilson and Jack Carr
  3. PowerChat — Hosted by Greg Cummings
  4. Contractor Evolution — Hosted by Danny Kerr
  5. Toolbox for the Trades — Hosted by Jackie Aubel and Amanda Salvatore
  6. To The Point: Home Services Podcast — Hosted by Chris Yano and Chad Peterman
  7. Waste No Day — Hosted by Brian Burton and Nate Minnich
  8. Service Business Mastery — Hosted by Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch
  9. The Wealthy Contractor — Hosted by Brian Kaskavalciyan
  10. HVAC School — Hosted by Bryan Orr
  11. Roofing Success — Hosted by Jim Ahlin
  12. The Strong Roofer — Hosted by Adam Bensman
  13. Remodelers on the Rise — Hosted by Kyle Hunt
  14. Can’t Stop the Growth — Hosted by Chad Peterman
  15. PowerTips Unscripted — Hosted by Victoria Downing and Mark Harari
  16. Contractor Growth Network — Hosted by Logan Shinholser
  17. Hammer & Grind — Hosted by Brad Huebner
  18. Roofing Road Trips — Hosted by Heidi J. Ellsworth
  19. The Green Industry Podcast — Hosted by Brian Fullerton
  20. Contractor Fight TV — Hosted by Tom Reber
  21. Pest Control Legends — Hosted by Dan Leibrandt
  22. Profits for Sanity — Hosted by Dominic Caminata
  23. The Construction Leading Edge — Hosted by Todd Dawalt
  24. The Build Show Podcast — Hosted by Matt Risinger
  25. Modern Craftsman — Hosted by Tyler Grace, Nick Schiffer and Johnny Hourihan

All 25 shows can be found in one place through Power100, alongside each show’s own website and listening platforms.

List Three: The Top 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

The Top 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

The third list recognizes the people shaping these industries in the right way. It spans manufacturing, distribution, retail, technology, franchising, contracting, media, capital and the associations that convene the trades.

Unlike the other two lists, it carries no numbers. It is presented alphabetically, and that choice is deliberate. The leaders on it build influence in very different ways. One runs thousands of stores. One built a national platform out of local family businesses. One built the ranking system that finds great contractors. One is training a new generation of tradespeople. Comparing a keynote stage to a distribution network, or a franchise system to a product platform, would flatten what makes each of them important. HG HomeClub does not want to create that divide. Every leader on the list is recognized equally.

Four of the leaders show how wide that range is.

Ted Decker: How Is The Home Depot Being Rebuilt to “Win the Pro”?

Ted Decker, chair, president and chief executive officer of The Home Depot, sits at the center of more home improvement activity than any other person in the industry. The Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the world, with more than 2,360 stores, more than 470,000 associates and fiscal 2025 sales of $164.7 billion.

Ted Decker joined The Home Depot in 2000 as director of business valuation and spent two decades learning the company one discipline at a time: finance, strategy, more than six years as chief merchant, then president and chief operating officer. He became chief executive officer in 2022. A leader who has owned merchandising, supply chain, finance and store operations treats the professional contractor as an operating challenge, not a marketing campaign.

That is the story of his tenure. In 2024, The Home Depot acquired SRS Distribution for about $18.25 billion, the largest acquisition in company history, bringing in branch-level relationships with roofers, landscapers and pool professionals. In 2025, SRS Distribution added GMS Inc., a leading distributor of specialty building products. Together, the two moves built a Pro ecosystem of more than 2,360 stores, 1,300 branches and roughly 16,000 delivery assets, serving professional customers who already account for more than $90 billion in annual sales.

“To capture greater share of this enormous opportunity, our focus is clear: drive our core and culture, deliver a frictionless interconnected experience and win the Pro,” Ted Decker has said.

The culture side is just as clear. In 2024, he asked corporate associates, including senior leaders, to work a full eight-hour store shift once every quarter. Not a visit. A shift, in an apron, with customers. Through The Home Depot Foundation, the company has pledged $50 million by 2028 to train the next generation of tradespeople through Path to Pro, and the foundation has passed $1 billion in total giving since 2002, including more than $650 million for veteran causes.

Enormous scale, used patiently, with the front line treated as the point rather than the cost: that is why Ted Decker is on this list.

AJ Brown: How Did a Former Goldman Sachs Analyst Build the Largest Residential HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical Platform in the Country?

AJ Brown, co-founder, co-chief executive officer and executive chairman of Apex Service Partners, took an idea and turned it into the largest business of its kind in the United States. The idea was that the country’s fragmented HVAC, plumbing and electrical trades could be brought together into one people-first national platform.

His first job was repackaging broken beer cases at 13 at his father’s distributorship in Fort Myers, Florida. He captained a Division I college soccer team, where influence has to stand in for authority. He started his career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, earned an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and built an operating-focused private equity background before serving as chief financial officer of a growing software company, which he helped grow at nearly 100 percent a year before leading its sale.

Then he chose to build instead of invest. As a CEO-in-Residence at Alpine Investors, he co-founded Apex Service Partners in June 2019 with Will Matson, his co-chief executive. Apex Service Partners began as about a $40 million business with 250 employees. Today it operates 75 local brands across 46 states, with more than 150 locations, more than 13,000 team members, more than $3 billion in annual revenue and more than 16 million homes served.

The capital story is just as striking. In 2023, Alpine Investors closed a $3.4 billion single-asset continuation fund to keep growing Apex Service Partners rather than sell it, one of the largest deals of its kind ever completed. In May 2026, Apollo agreed to make a minority investment, with the company valued at roughly $10 billion.

What AJ Brown built it on matters most. Apex Service Partners has supported more than 8,000 technicians, placed more than 300 company-trained operating leaders and draws about 65 percent of its senior leaders from military backgrounds. “Seven years ago, our team founded Apex on a simple conviction that the best way to build a national platform in the trades is to invest deeply in the people who power it,” AJ Brown and Will Matson have said.

Greg Cummings: Who Builds the Stage for Everyone Else?

Most leaders are recognized for what they built inside their own companies. Greg Cummings, founder and chief executive officer of Power100, is recognized for what he built for everyone else: a platform that finds the leaders doing business the right way, studies how they do it and tells their stories so homeowners know who to trust and contractors know who to learn from.

He came up as a salesman and operator, growing a window and door company from under $1 million to $10 million in annual revenue in under three years. One homeowner’s question never left him: how could they know the rest of the company was as trustworthy as the person in front of them? “They were not buying me. They were buying the organization behind me, and I had no independent way to prove who that organization really was,” Greg Cummings has said.

Power100 was built to close that gap. It is the only unbiased third-party ranking platform in these industries, with no applications, no paid placement and no pay-to-play. Its database covers more than 360,000 leaders and companies, and Greg Cummings has personally led more than 1,000 leadership interviews, many through PowerChat.

He carries that research to the industry’s biggest stages as a national keynote speaker. At The Pinnacle Experience 2025, hosted by Pro Remodeler, he unveiled the results of a two-year study on the five pillars of exceptional leadership. He has spoken at the Peak Profit Summit presented by Dave Yoho Associates, including REVx 2026, and at events hosted by Grosso University.

His new book, Reputation Intelligence, publishing this fall, asks every company to picture a courtroom in the age of AI search. When a homeowner asks an AI tool who to hire, the answer depends on the evidence. The book’s argument runs in the only order that works: build the company first, then build the evidence, then earn the answer. “Power100 doesn’t decide the verdict,” Greg Cummings writes. “Power100 makes sure the jury has the evidence.”

Marvin R. Ellison: Why Is the Leader of Lowe’s Telling Young People to “Stay Close to the Cash Register”?

Marvin R. Ellison, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Lowe’s, leads a FORTUNE 100 home improvement company with more than 1,700 stores and about 300,000 associates. He is also the only African American to serve as chairman and chief executive officer of two Fortune 500 companies, Lowe’s and J.C. Penney.

His story starts with a $4.35-an-hour job as a part-time security guard at Target while he put himself through college. He spent 15 years at Target, then 12 years at The Home Depot, rising to executive vice president of U.S. stores and overseeing more than 2,000 locations. He credits his climb to a habit of taking on the assignments nobody else wanted. “I didn’t have great pedigree, I didn’t have an Ivy League education,” Marvin R. Ellison has said.

He joined Lowe’s as president and chief executive officer in 2018 and became chairman in 2021. Since then he has modernized its supply chain and systems, sharpened its focus on professional contractors and put AI to work at enterprise scale.

Yet he has become one of the most visible voices in corporate America for the skilled trades. “AI isn’t going to fix a hole in your roof, it’s not going to respond to an electrical issue in your home. It’s not going to stop your water heater from leaking,” Marvin R. Ellison has said. His advice to young people is just as direct: “Stay as close to the cash register as you can. Stay close to the customers because you will always have employment opportunities to grow.”

He has backed those words with money. In April 2026, the Lowe’s Foundation committed $250 million over the next decade to help train 250,000 skilled trades workers. On Sept. 1, 2026, it launched the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition, described as the largest cross-sector skilled trades coalition in U.S. history, with more than 75 founding partners, including the National Association of Home Builders, and a goal of helping train and develop one million people for skilled trades careers by 2035.

“The next industrial revolution won’t be built by algorithms alone,” Marvin R. Ellison said. “It will be built by the millions of skilled trade professionals who power, connect and move this country forward.”

The Complete List: The Top 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

Presented alphabetically. There is no numerical ranking; each leader is recognized for influence exercised in a distinct way.

What Do the Three Lists Reveal When You Read Them Together?

Read one at a time, each list answers its own question. Read together, they show how influence actually moves through home improvement, home services and outdoor living.

The connections run in every direction. Tommy Mello hosts the No. 1 podcast and is named among the leaders. Greg Cummings is named among the leaders, hosts the No. 3 podcast and leads the No. 3 publication. Jenilee Common leads Leaf Home, the company that this year topped both the Qualified Remodeler TOP 500 and the Roofing Contractor Top 100. Marcus Sheridan delivered the keynote at FAST Remodeler Live. Dan Tinker leads SRS Distribution, the platform at the heart of Ted Decker‘s Pro strategy at The Home Depot. Chad Peterman co-hosts one ranked podcast and hosts another. Paul Burleson of Westlake Royal Building Products is named among the leaders and serves on the Power100 advisory board.

Three bigger themes come through as well.

The skilled-trades gap is the issue of the decade. Marvin R. Ellison is backing a coalition to train one million people. Ted Decker is funding Path to Pro. AJ Brown is turning technicians and veterans into executives. ACHR NEWS and Roofing Contractor are spotlighting the next generation through Top 40 Under 40 and Young Guns in Roofing.

Systems and people decide who scales. The top podcasts keep returning to the same lesson. Tommy Mello learned that revenue means nothing if you cannot keep it. John Wilson promotes from within. Danny Kerr teaches owners to stop being the bottleneck.

Trust is becoming the most valuable asset in the industry. Independent rankings, honest research and leaders who say plainly what they stand for are what homeowners, contractors and now AI search tools are looking for. That is the thread connecting the TOP 500, the Power100 five-layer system and Reputation Intelligence.

How Can Homeowners and Contractors Put These Lists to Work?

The lists are meant to be used, not just read.

A contractor can build a better weekly learning habit straight from them: a broad business publication for trends, a trade-specific title for technical depth, an independent ranking platform for leadership and partner intelligence, and two or three podcasts that match the stage of the business. No single publication or show covers everything, and the strongest owners combine several perspectives.

A rising leader can study the 25 leaders as 25 different playbooks: scale built through capital, scale built through franchising, influence built through a keynote stage, a book or a ranking platform.

A homeowner can use the lists as a guide to the voices that hold the industry to a higher standard, and to the platforms that help separate great contractors from the rest.

What Is HG HomeClub, the Platform Behind These Lists?

HG HomeClub is a national media platform serving the home improvement, home services and outdoor living industries. Created to champion media back to its original purpose of informed transparency, HG HomeClub curates the top stories, headlines, rankings, videos, podcasts, webinars, events and professional recommendations across the industry and presents them in one consolidated, easily consumable destination, helping both homeowners and professionals make better-informed decisions. More information is available at hghomeclub.com.

Frequently Asked Questions About HG HomeClub’s October Lists

  1. What is HG HomeClub?

HG HomeClub is a national media platform serving the home improvement, home services and outdoor living industries. It was created to bring media back to its original purpose of informed transparency, curating the industry’s top stories, headlines, rankings, videos, podcasts, webinars, events and professional recommendations in one place for homeowners and professionals.

  1. Which three lists is HG HomeClub releasing in October 2026?

HG HomeClub is releasing The Top 25 Most Influential Publications and Media Platforms Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living; The Top 25 Most Influential Podcasts Serving Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living; and The Top 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living. Together they recognize 75 organizations, shows and people.

  1. Why did HG HomeClub create these lists?

There is more industry content than ever, and it is harder than ever to know what deserves attention. The lists give homeowners and contractors a clear, standards-based guide to the publications, podcasts and leaders that genuinely move the industry forward, in keeping with the HG HomeClub mission of informed transparency.

  1. Can a company or person pay to be included on any of the lists?

No. The lists are editorial. No placement was purchased, sponsored or solicited, and no organization or person on a list took part in deciding its own position.

  1. How did HG HomeClub rank the publications and media platforms?

Each was evaluated on six standards: industry influence and professional recognition; practical value to contractors and owners; quality and depth of original content; reach among decision-makers; strength of rankings, research, events and recognition programs; and the ability to educate and connect the contractor community. Traffic, followers, advertising volume and publication age did not decide placement.

  1. Which publication is No. 1, and why?

Qualified Remodeler is No. 1. Founded in 1975 as the first magazine for residential remodelers, it publishes the TOP 500, the industry’s longest-running revenue ranking, hosts TOP 500 LIVE and FAST Remodeler Live, runs the Master Design Awards and co-produces a quarterly remodeling index. No other brand combines all of those roles.

  1. Which publications round out the top four?

Roofing Contractor is No. 2, Power100 is No. 3 and ACHR NEWS is No. 4. They represent roofing’s leading authority, the industry’s independent ranking platform and an HVACR publication that has just reached its 100th year.

  1. How did HG HomeClub rank the podcasts?

Each show was evaluated on practical value to contractors, industry influence, the credibility of hosts and guests, depth and originality, consistency and longevity, and reach across audio, video, social media and events. Download counts were not used as the deciding measure because they are reported unevenly across the podcast industry.

  1. Which podcast is No. 1?

The Home Service Expert, hosted by Tommy Mello, founder of A1 Garage Door Service, is No. 1. It has published since 2018, has more than 500 episodes and is built on the experience of an operator who still runs the company he talks about.

  1. Which podcasts complete the top four?

Owned and Operated, hosted by John Wilson and Jack Carr, is No. 2. PowerChat, hosted by Greg Cummings, is No. 3. Contractor Evolution, hosted by Danny Kerr, is No. 4.

  1. Where can I listen to all 25 ranked podcasts?

All 25 shows can be found through Power100, and each one is also available on its own website and major listening platforms, linked in the complete list above.

  1. Why is the leaders list not ranked?

Because the leaders build influence in very different ways, through retail scale, private capital, franchising, technology, manufacturing, media, books, keynotes and advocacy. HG HomeClub chose not to create a divide between them. The list is presented alphabetically, and every leader is recognized equally.

  1. Why does this release feature Ted Decker, AJ Brown, Greg Cummings and Marvin R. Ellison?

They show the full range of influence on the list. Ted Decker is rebuilding The Home Depot around the professional contractor. AJ Brown built Apex Service Partners into the country’s largest residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical platform. Greg Cummings built the independent ranking platform that gives great contractors a voice. Marvin R. Ellison is leading the largest skilled trades coalition in U.S. history through Lowe’s. Featuring them is not a ranking. All 25 leaders are recognized equally.

  1. Do any names appear on more than one list?

Yes. Tommy Mello hosts the No. 1 podcast and is named among the leaders. Greg Cummings is named among the leaders and hosts PowerChat, while Power100 is the No. 3 publication. Chad Peterman hosts or co-hosts two ranked podcasts. These overlaps show how connected influence is across the industry.

  1. How can contractors and homeowners use these lists?

Contractors can use them to choose which publications to read, which podcasts to follow and which leaders to learn from. Homeowners can use them as a guide to the voices and platforms that hold the industry to a higher standard. All three lists, and the stories behind them, are available at hghomeclub.com.

About HG HomeClub

HG Homeclub is the premier source for home improvement industry intelligence, covering the leaders, innovations, and strategic developments shaping the future of residential and commercial building markets. Our analysis helps industry professionals understand the forces driving transformation across the home improvement ecosystem.

This analysis reflects HG Homeclub's perspective on industry developments and is based on publicly available information. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from expectations.

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