The Chair, President and CEO of The Sherwin-Williams Company is recognized as the first woman to lead the paint and coatings giant in its 160-year history, for steering a global manufacturing and retail network of more than 4,800 stores through a supply chain upended by inflation and shifting housing demand, and for a leadership philosophy built around putting, in her own words, “the best athlete on the field at all times.”
HG HomeClub has named Heidi G. Petz, Chair, President and CEO of The Sherwin-Williams Company, to its list of the 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living.
The list, published by HG HomeClub, recognizes 25 leaders who are shaping these three industries in the right way. It spans manufacturing, distribution, retail, technology, franchising, contracting, media, capital and the associations that convene the trades. It is presented alphabetically and carries no numerical ranking, because the leaders on it exercise influence in fundamentally different ways, and comparing a keynote stage to a distribution network, or a franchise system to a product platform, would flatten what makes each of them consequential.
Petz earns her place on it as the executive now running one of the largest supply chains feeding professional painting contractors in North America. Sherwin-Williams employs approximately 64,000 people across more than 120 countries and reported $23.6 billion in revenue in 2025, operating more than 4,800 stores that form the backbone of the supply chain for professional painting contractors, and in November 2024 the company joined the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Dow Inc.
Those are the numbers. The story is a career built across four companies before Petz ever led one, and a philosophy about surrounding herself with the best people she could find.
Fifteen Years at Three Companies Before She Ever Reached Sherwin-Williams
Petz spent 15 years in marketing, sales and finance leadership roles at Newell Rubbermaid, Target Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers before joining Valspar in 2013 as Vice President of Marketing, Consumer Business. When Sherwin-Williams acquired Valspar and Petz joined the combined company in June 2017, she inherited responsibility for helping integrate a business that had operated as an independent rival for decades.
A Steady Climb Through Marketing, Retail and the Americas Group
Once inside Sherwin-Williams, Petz‘s rise was methodical rather than sudden. According to the company’s own proxy filings, she served as Senior Vice President of Marketing from June 2017 to March 2019, then President and General Manager of Retail North America within the Consumer Brands Group from March 2019 to September 2020. From there she became President of the Consumer Brands Group from September to November 2020, Senior Vice President of Marketing for The Americas Group from November 2020 to March 2021, and President of The Americas Group from March 2021 to March 2022, leading both of those global businesses, in the company’s words, “through some of the most challenging periods in the Company’s history.”
Why Sherwin-Williams Chose Her to Run Global Operations First
Before becoming CEO, Petz was tested on the operational side of the business. She served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Sherwin-Williams from March 2022 to January 2024, with responsibility for all global operating segments and the company’s supply chain, a period that included navigating volatile input costs, inflation and shifting demand cycles in new housing and remodeling.
Becoming the Tenth CEO in Company History
On October 10, 2023, Sherwin-Williams’ Board of Directors elected Petz to serve as the company’s next CEO, effective January 1, 2024, succeeding John G. Morikis, who moved into the role of Executive Chairman. “With this transition, Heidi becomes only the tenth CEO in the 157-year history of the Company,” Morikis said at the time; Sherwin-Williams’ own corporate leadership page now describes her as the tenth CEO in the company’s 160-year history, reflecting the company’s full founding date of 1866. The appointment followed a comprehensive, multi-year organizational succession plan, and made her the first woman to lead the company since its founding.
A little over a year later, on November 14, 2024, the board elected Petz to assume the additional role of Chair of the Board, effective January 1, 2025, as Morikis retired from that position following a 40-year career with the company.
Joining the Dow, and What It Signaled About the Company’s Scale
In November 2024, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Sherwin-Williams would replace Dow Inc. in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, effective November 8, 2024, alongside NVIDIA’s addition in the same rebalancing. “I am excited to share that Sherwin-Williams has been selected to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, becoming one of only 30 companies in one of the most prestigious benchmarks in the global financial markets,” Petz wrote of the milestone, crediting it to “the hard work and dedication of our 65,000 global employees and the strong foundation built by so many who came before us.”
Putting “the Best Athlete on the Field” Into Practice
Petz’s leadership philosophy centers on treating her leadership team like an athletic roster. In her May 12, 2024, commencement address at her alma mater, the University of Richmond, she told graduates: “I am one of 64,000 [Sherwin-Williams] employees. The other 63,999 employees are truly helping me drive the success of this company. I have an incredible leadership team around me and often refer to them as athletes. My desire as a leader is to put the best athlete on the field at all times.” She encouraged the Class of 2024 to “lean into your strengths… and lean on others for theirs.”
A Return to Campus, and an Honorary Degree to Go With It
Petz, a 1997 graduate of the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies, with minors in business administration and speech communication, was invited back to deliver the university’s 2024 commencement address. “As a proud graduate of the University of Richmond, I’m truly honored to be the 2024 commencement speaker and connect with this incredible class of future leaders,” Petz said of the invitation. During the ceremony, she received an honorary degree from the university.
Beyond Sherwin-Williams: Boards, Housing Policy and Healthcare
Outside the company, Petz has served as an independent director of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTA) since December 2022, sits on the Board of Directors of University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland, and is a member of the Policy Advisory Board of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, giving her a direct line into the academic research shaping national housing and remodeling policy.
Why Does Heidi Petz Belong Among the 25 Most Influential Leaders in These Industries?
Influence in these industries takes several forms. Some leaders influence through a keynote stage or a book. Some through a franchise system that creates business owners. Some through a distribution network, a software platform, or the price of a pallet.
Heidi Petz influences through the paint can on every professional painter’s truck. She spent seven years climbing through nearly every commercial function at Sherwin-Williams before becoming the first woman to lead the company in its 160-year history, then took it into the Dow Jones Industrial Average within her first year as CEO. Doing that while keeping a supply chain of more than 4,800 stores running through inflation and a volatile housing cycle, and while building a leadership culture explicitly designed around putting the strongest person in every seat, is exactly the kind of influence this list was created to recognize.
About HG HomeClub
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.
About The Sherwin-Williams Company
The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW), founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest coatings company in the world by revenue, engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale of paints, coatings and related products, with operations in more than 120 countries. The company operates more than 4,800 stores, employs approximately 64,000 people, and reported $23.6 billion in revenue in 2025. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, Sherwin-Williams is led by Chair, President and CEO Heidi G. Petz. More information is available at sherwin-williams.com.
The 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.
- Doug Black — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SiteOne Landscape Supply (Outdoor living)
- AJ Brown — Co-Chief Executive Officer, Apex Service Partners (Platforms)
- Paul Burleson — Senior Account Executive, Westlake Royal Building Products (Home improvement)
- Jenilee Common — Chief Executive Officer, Leaf Home and Erie Home (Home improvement)
- Greg Cummings — Chief Executive Officer, Power100 (Media)
- Bill Darcy — Global President and Chief Executive Officer, NKBA and KBIS (Associations)
- Mike Davis — Chief Executive Officer, Neighborly (Franchising)
- Ted Decker — Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Home Depot (Retail)
- Marvin R. Ellison — Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lowe’s (Retail)
- Aaron Erter — Chief Executive Officer, James Hardie (Manufacturing)
- Daniel Gluck — Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Renuity (Home improvement)
- Ken Goodrich — Chairman; Founder, Goettl; The Goodrich Organization (Home services)
- Brian Gottlieb — Best-Selling Author and Speaker, Beyond the Hammer (Speaking and authorship)
- Maggie Hardy — Owner, President and Chief Executive Officer, 84 Lumber (Distribution)
- Brad Jacobs — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, QXO (Distribution)
- Kurt Kane — President and Chief Executive Officer, TruGreen (Outdoor living)
- Ara Mahdessian — Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ServiceTitan (Technology)
- Matt Malone — Founder and Executive Chairman, Groundworks (Home services)
- Tommy Mello — Founder and Chief Executive Officer, A1 Garage Door Service (Home services)
- Heidi G. Petz — Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sherwin-Williams (Manufacturing)
- Asher Raphael — Co-Chief Executive Officer, Power Home Remodeling (Home improvement)
- Dave Regnery — Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Trane Technologies (Manufacturing)
- Marcus Sheridan — Founder, Marcus Sheridan International (Speaking and authorship)
- Dan Tinker — President and Chief Executive Officer, SRS Distribution (Distribution)
- James W. Tobin III — President and Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Home Builders (Associations)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is HG HomeClub, and what is this list?
HG HomeClub is a national media platform serving the home improvement, home services, and outdoor living industries. It was created to return media 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 both homeowners and professionals. The 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living is one of HG HomeClub’s editorial rankings, recognizing the people shaping these industries in the right way across manufacturing, distribution, retail, technology, franchising, contracting, media, capital and the associations that convene the trades.
- Is the list ranked from one to 25?
No. The list is presented alphabetically and carries no numerical order. The leaders recognized exercise influence in genuinely different ways, through enterprise scale, growth, product innovation, franchising, capital, authorship, keynote stages, advocacy and media, and HG HomeClub declined to impose a hierarchy on work that is not comparable. Every leader on the list is recognized equally.
- Who is Heidi Petz?
Heidi G. Petz is Chair, President and CEO of The Sherwin-Williams Company, and the first woman to lead the company in its 160-year history. She spent 15 years in leadership roles at Newell Rubbermaid, Target Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers before joining Valspar in 2013 and then Sherwin-Williams in June 2017 following its acquisition of Valspar. She holds a bachelor’s degree in leadership studies from the University of Richmond and an MBA from Loyola University Maryland.
- Why was Heidi Petz selected for this list?
Because she became the tenth CEO, and first woman to lead, The Sherwin-Williams Company following a multi-year succession plan, and because under her leadership the company joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in November 2024 while she has steered its global manufacturing, retail and supply chain network, spanning more than 4,800 stores and 64,000 employees, through volatile input costs and shifting housing demand.
- When did Heidi Petz become CEO of Sherwin-Williams?
Sherwin-Williams’ Board of Directors elected Petz to serve as CEO on October 10, 2023, effective January 1, 2024, succeeding John G. Morikis, who moved into the role of Executive Chairman. A little over a year later, on November 14, 2024, the board elected her to also serve as Chair of the Board, effective January 1, 2025.
- What roles did Heidi Petz hold before becoming CEO?
Petz joined Sherwin-Williams in June 2017 as Senior Vice President of Marketing following the company’s acquisition of Valspar. She subsequently served as President and General Manager of Retail North America, President of the Consumer Brands Group, President of The Americas Group, and President and Chief Operating Officer from March 2022 to January 2024, overseeing all of the company’s global operating segments and its supply chain.
- When did Sherwin-Williams join the Dow Jones Industrial Average?
Sherwin-Williams joined the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average effective November 8, 2024, replacing Dow Inc., as part of a rebalancing that also added NVIDIA to the index. Petz credited the milestone to the company’s roughly 65,000 global employees.
- What is Heidi Petz’s leadership philosophy?
Petz has described her approach as putting “the best athlete on the field at all times,” a philosophy she detailed in her May 2024 commencement address at her alma mater, the University of Richmond, where she also received an honorary degree. She has emphasized leaning into individual strengths while relying on colleagues for theirs, crediting Sherwin-Williams’ roughly 64,000 employees broadly for the company’s success.
- What boards does Heidi Petz serve on outside Sherwin-Williams?
Petz has served as an independent director of Ulta Beauty, Inc. since December 2022, sits on the Board of Directors of University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland, and is a member of the Policy Advisory Board of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, which conducts closely watched research on U.S. housing and remodeling trends.
