The President and CEO of SRS Distribution is recognized for buying a bankrupt roofing distributor for $12 million and building it, over 16 years, into an $18.25 billion sale to The Home Depot, the largest acquisition in that retailer’s history, for a wealth-creation story that turned hundreds of frontline employees into millionaires, and for a giving culture built into the company’s mission statement from the start.
HG HomeClub has named Dan Tinker, President and CEO of SRS Distribution, 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.
Tinker earns his place on it for one of the largest single wealth-creation stories in the history of building products distribution. In 2008, he and a small team bought SRS out of bankruptcy for $12 million, a family-owned roofing distributor that had collapsed with the housing market. Sixteen years later, The Home Depot acquired SRS for a total enterprise value of approximately $18.25 billion, the largest acquisition in Home Depot’s history, and one that expanded Home Depot’s total addressable market by $50 billion.
Those are the numbers. The story is in the $12 million bet, and in what the culture built around it did for the people who worked there.
How Did Dan Tinker Learn to Run a Distribution Business?
Tinker began his career in 1996 as a management trainee at Cameron Ashley Building Products. As branch manager the following year, he took over the company’s worst-performing location, out of 165 branches, and turned it into Branch of the Year for the entire company within twelve months, before moving up to district and regional manager. He then spent four years at MMI Products in Houston, first as VP of Sales and Marketing starting in 2000, then VP of Western Operations covering manufacturing and distribution starting in 2002. In 2004, he became President of Shelter Distribution, which was acquired the following year by Beacon Roofing Supply, where he subsequently served as Senior Vice President of Operations and Business Development.
How Did $12 Million Become $18.25 Billion?
After leaving Beacon, Tinker worked briefly as a private equity consultant before reassembling his old team to buy SRS out of bankruptcy for $12 million in 2008. “We started SRS with only $12 million and bought the company, SRS, out of bankruptcy for $12 million,” Tinker has said. “The company we just sold to for $18.25 billion, we paid only $12 million for just 16 years ago.” He joined SRS as Chief Operating Officer in 2008, was promoted to President in 2015, and became President and CEO in June 2017, succeeding founder Ron Ross, who became executive chairman.
Under his leadership, SRS grew through what Tinker has credited to three successive private equity sponsors over roughly five-year stretches apiece: Berkshire Partners invested in 2013, when SRS generated approximately $650 million in revenue with fewer than 100 branches, and Leonard Green & Partners later took the lead stake. By the time of Home Depot’s acquisition, SRS had expanded to more than 1,300 locations through more than 100 acquisitions and over 180 greenfield openings, delivering what Tinker has described as significant wealth creation for nearly 10,000 employee-owners, turning many frontline employees into millionaires in the process.
The deal, announced March 28, 2024, and completed June 18, 2024, was described by Home Depot chair, president and CEO Ted Decker as “a complementary accelerator” to the retailer’s push into professional contractor sales. SRS continues to operate as an independent professional arm of The Home Depot, with its senior leadership, including Tinker, remaining in place, and now, per Home Depot’s most recent public disclosures, operates more than 800 locations across 48 states.
How Far Did Dan Tinker Push SRS Beyond Roofing?
Roofing was only the starting point. In 2018, SRS formed Heritage Landscape Supply Group to distribute landscape and irrigation products, and in 2021, launched Heritage Pool Supply Group with the acquisition of Aqua-Gon, Inc., entering the pool and spa vertical. “We are very excited to be entering the pool and spa supply vertical as a natural extension of our growing landscape and outdoor living supply business,” Tinker said of the move, adding that SRS intended to “use our growth strategy and playbook to build a growing national footprint.” By the time of the Home Depot deal, Heritage Landscape Supply Group had grown to eight local brands and more than 70 locations across 11 states, diversifying SRS well beyond its original roofing footprint into outdoor living, hardscapes and pool and spa distribution.
What Was Dan Tinker’s Mission Statement, and Where Did It Come From?
SRS’s original mission was simply “Make Money and Have Fun.” In 2014, alongside the founding of its Raise the Roof Foundation, SRS expanded the mission to “Make Money, Have Fun and Give Back,” and Tinker has carried that mantra as the company’s cultural throughline ever since. That culture drew outside recognition in 2021, when SRS was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Mid-Sized Employers, ranking 101 out of 500. “Our company culture is the number one priority at SRS,” Tinker said of the recognition.
Where Is Dan Tinker Taking What He Learned Next?
In July 2026, Groundworks, North America’s largest foundation repair and water management solutions company, appointed Tinker to its board of directors, effective immediately. “Rarely have I seen such a unique opportunity in the home services category,” Tinker said of joining the board. “Similar to SRS, Groundworks is built on a unique, employee-centric culture. The growth of Groundworks is inspiring, and I am honored to join the board.” Groundworks CEO Doug Sanders called Tinker “an accomplished leader who understands how to scale complex, service-focused organizations.”
What Has Dan Tinker Given Back to His Alma Mater and to Veterans?
As President of the SRS Raise the Roof Foundation, which has raised over $15 million over the past decade to support wounded veterans, disaster-impacted communities and local families, Tinker has made philanthropy a formal part of SRS’s operating culture rather than a side initiative. He also serves on the board of The One Tribe Foundation, formerly known as 22Kill, which focuses on mental health awareness and ending veteran suicide.
Tinker has been recognized twice by his alma maters for that record of achievement: Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business named him its 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award winner, and Texas A&M University has separately honored him for his industry impact and mentorship, including through the university’s Talent Incubator Program for young engineers. He is also a board trustee of the Roofing Alliance for Progress and a member of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Why Does Dan Tinker 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.
Dan Tinker influences through a scale of value creation that is rare even among the leaders on this list: a $12 million bet on a bankrupt distributor, turned into an $18.25 billion sale, the single largest acquisition in Home Depot’s history, that made hundreds of his own frontline employees into millionaires. He built that outcome on a mission statement, “make money, have fun, give back,” that he kept intact from the company’s earliest days through its exit, and he is now applying the same playbook as a board member at Groundworks. That combination of extraordinary financial outcome and a culture built to share it broadly 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 SRS Distribution
SRS Distribution, founded in 2008 and headquartered in McKinney, Texas, is a leading residential specialty trade distribution company serving professional roofers, landscapers and pool contractors. Now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Home Depot, following an $18.25 billion acquisition completed in 2024, SRS operates more than 800 locations across 48 states through its Heritage Landscape Supply Group and Heritage Pool Supply Group platforms alongside its original roofing distribution network. SRS is led by President and CEO Dan Tinker. More information is available at srsdistribution.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 Dan Tinker?
Dan Tinker is President and CEO of SRS Distribution. He began his career in 1996 at Cameron Ashley Building Products, held leadership roles at MMI Products, Shelter Distribution and Beacon Roofing Supply, and helped buy SRS out of bankruptcy for $12 million in 2008, serving as COO, then President, then President and CEO starting in 2017. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
- Why was Dan Tinker selected for this list?
Because he built SRS Distribution from a $12 million bankruptcy purchase into an $18.25 billion sale to The Home Depot, the largest acquisition in that company’s history, expanding SRS from a roofing distributor into landscape, hardscape and pool and spa distribution along the way, and because that growth created significant wealth for frontline employees while sustaining a culture built around the mission “make money, have fun, give back.”
- What is the story behind SRS Distribution’s founding?
In 2008, Dan Tinker and a small team he had worked with previously bought SRS out of bankruptcy for $12 million. The company had been a family-owned roofing distributor that struggled through the housing market collapse. Tinker joined as Chief Operating Officer, was promoted to President in 2015, and became President and CEO in June 2017.
- How much did The Home Depot pay for SRS Distribution?
The Home Depot acquired SRS Distribution for a total enterprise value of approximately $18.25 billion, in a deal announced March 28, 2024, and completed June 18, 2024. It was the largest acquisition in Home Depot’s history and expanded the retailer’s total addressable market by an estimated $50 billion. SRS continues to operate as an independent professional arm of The Home Depot, with Tinker and his senior leadership team remaining in place.
- How did SRS Distribution expand beyond roofing?
SRS formed Heritage Landscape Supply Group in 2018 to distribute landscape and irrigation products, and launched Heritage Pool Supply Group in 2021 with the acquisition of Aqua-Gon, Inc., entering the pool and spa vertical. By the time of the Home Depot acquisition, Heritage Landscape Supply Group alone had grown to eight local brands and more than 70 locations across 11 states.
- What is SRS’s “make money, have fun, give back” mission?
SRS’s original mission statement was “Make Money and Have Fun.” In 2014, alongside the founding of its Raise the Roof Foundation, the company expanded it to “Make Money, Have Fun and Give Back,” a mantra Dan Tinker has carried through the company’s culture ever since. SRS was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Mid-Sized Employers in 2021, ranking 101 out of 500.
- What boards and philanthropic causes does Dan Tinker support?
Tinker is President of the SRS Raise the Roof Foundation, which has raised more than $15 million over the past decade for wounded veterans, disaster-impacted communities and local families, and serves on the board of The One Tribe Foundation, which focuses on ending veteran suicide. He is a board trustee of the Roofing Alliance for Progress and a member of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, and in July 2026 joined the board of directors of Groundworks, North America’s largest foundation repair and water management solutions company.
