The CEO of the combined Leaf Home and Erie Home organization is recognized as one of the few women running a multi-billion-dollar residential services enterprise, for a finance-and-operations career built at Fortune 500 manufacturers rather than through sales or founding, and for steering the newly merged company to the top spot on both of the industry’s two most-watched annual rankings within a year of the deal that created it.
HG HomeClub has named Jenilee Common, CEO of the combined Leaf Home and Erie Home organization, 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.
Common’s path to this list runs through balance sheets, not sales floors. She leads what the companies themselves describe as North America’s largest direct-to-consumer residential home services and home improvement company, a title that became literal in August 2026, when Leaf Home earned the No. 1 spot on both Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500 and Roofing Contractor’s Top 100 annual rankings simultaneously for the first time, making it, per Roofing Contractor, the first primarily residential roofing company to lead that list in at least a decade.
Those are the numbers. The story is a career built almost entirely inside finance and operations at industrial manufacturers, before she ever ran a home services company at all.
Two Decades Inside Fortune 500 Manufacturing, Not Sales
Common brings more than 20 years of experience in P&L leadership, sales, business strategy, pricing, supply chain management and finance to the roofing and remodeling industry, a background built almost entirely inside large industrial manufacturers rather than through a sales floor or a company she founded herself. That includes more than 20 years of leadership experience spanning global organizations including Owens Corning and Eaton Corporation. She attended Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business.
Running a Division at a $10 Billion Building Materials Company
Immediately before entering the direct-to-consumer roofing world, Common served as Vice President and General Manager of Roofing Components at Owens Corning, a roughly $10 billion global building and construction materials leader, running the global P&L for its roofing parts, private label and geosynthetics division, a role that gave her direct exposure to the supply chains and manufacturing economics behind the residential roofing category she would soon enter as an operator.
Named CEO of Erie Home, She Elevated Its Founder to Chairman
On March 14, 2023, Erie Home appointed Common as its Chief Executive Officer, elevating founder Pat Trompeter to Chairman of the Board, with Randy Hamilton continuing to support the company’s growth as President. “We are thrilled to welcome Jenilee as the new CEO of Erie Home,” said Tom Burger, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Gridiron Capital, Erie’s private equity sponsor. “The company has continued to scale through strong organic growth and a proven new office opening model that has solidified Erie as a national leader in home improvement. We are confident her significant industry and operational experience will have a meaningful impact on Erie’s success.” Under her leadership as Erie’s standalone CEO, the company grew its footprint past 100 locally based field offices.
A $700 Million-Class Deal Puts Two Trusted Brands Under One Roof
On September 8, 2025, Leaf Home announced it had acquired Erie Home, combining what both companies called two of the foremost leaders in the direct-to-consumer home solutions sector. Both businesses were already part of the Gridiron Capital portfolio, which had backed Leaf Home since 2016 and Erie Home since 2021, and Gridiron retained majority ownership of the combined company, with Ares Management funds leading a preferred equity investment in Leaf as part of the transaction. Common, Erie’s sitting CEO, became CEO of the combined organization, partnering with Rocco Mango, who assumed the role of President and Chief Operating Officer.
“Today marks an incredible milestone in our journey: Leaf Home and Erie Home are now one team,” Common wrote of the combination. “I am honored to step into the role of CEO of the combined organization. With more than 300 offices, thousands of passionate team members, and a presence that spans nearly every community across the U.S. and into Canada, our opportunity to serve homeowners has never been greater.” Following the deal, the combined company services customers through more than 300 field offices with over 3,100 trained sales consultants and 2,400 licensed installers.
Why Common Talks About Treating the Home as a System
A recurring theme in Common‘s public remarks about the merger is moving customers away from single-project thinking. In a Qualified Remodeler podcast conversation about why the two companies are better together, she spoke about combining complementary products and services that protect the home inside and out, arguing that treating the home as a system, from the roofline to the foundation, helps homeowners stay ahead of issues rather than reacting to them one at a time.
First to the Top of Two Lists at Once, in the Same Year as a 50th Anniversary
The combined company’s scale showed up in the industry’s own scoreboards within a year of the merger. In August 2026, Leaf Home topped both Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500 and Roofing Contractor’s Top 100 for the first time in company history, a distinction the company noted coincided with Erie Home’s 50th anniversary, the brand having been founded in 1976. Erie Home had separately climbed as high as the No. 4 spot on Roofing Contractor’s Top 100 in 2023, under Common’s leadership as its standalone CEO. The combined company has additionally earned recognition from Good Housekeeping, Angi, Consumer Reports and This Old House.
Sharing the Playbook Beyond Her Own Company
Common has used industry media to discuss the broader lessons of building and combining large home services operations. She appeared on Roofing Contractor’s Stories from the Roof podcast, reflecting on lessons from building multi-billion-dollar divisions, the impact of hands-on customer service expertise, and her personal ties to the Midwest, offering advice for others aspiring to grow within the home improvement and roofing industry.
Why Does Jenilee Common 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.
Jenilee Common influences as one of the few women running an enterprise of this scale in residential services, and as proof that the discipline of running a Fortune 500 division translates directly into running a national direct-to-consumer platform. She took the reins at Erie Home, grew its footprint past 100 offices, then stepped into leading the combined Leaf Home and Erie Home organization through a merger that made it, within a year, the first primarily residential roofing company to top Roofing Contractor’s list in a decade, while simultaneously leading Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500. That combination of operational rigor and rapid integration at national scale 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 Leaf Home and Erie Home
Leaf Home, headquartered in Hudson, Ohio, is North America’s largest residential home services company, offering LeafFilter gutter protection, Erie Home premium roofing, water filtration, bath remodels, stair lifts and basement waterproofing solutions. Leaf Home acquired Erie Home, founded in 1976 and headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, on September 8, 2025, and the combined company operates more than 300 field offices with over 3,100 trained sales consultants and 2,400 licensed installers across the U.S. and Canada. The company is led by CEO Jenilee Common and President and COO Rocco Mango, and is backed by Gridiron Capital and Ares Management. More information is available at leafhome.com and eriehome.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 Jenilee Common?
Jenilee Common is CEO of the combined Leaf Home and Erie Home organization, North America’s largest direct-to-consumer residential home services and home improvement company. She brings more than 20 years of P&L, operations and finance leadership experience from global manufacturers including Owens Corning, where she served as Vice President and General Manager of Roofing Components, and Eaton Corporation. She attended Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business.
- Why was Jenilee Common selected for this list?
Because she is one of the few women leading a multi-billion-dollar-scale residential services enterprise, built her path to the role through Fortune 500 finance and operations leadership rather than sales or founding a company, and steered the newly combined Leaf Home and Erie Home organization to the No. 1 spot on both Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500 and Roofing Contractor’s Top 100 simultaneously within a year of the merger that created it.
- How did Jenilee Common become CEO of Erie Home, and later of the combined company?
Erie Home appointed Common as CEO on March 14, 2023, elevating founder Pat Trompeter to Chairman of the Board. When Leaf Home acquired Erie Home on September 8, 2025, in a transaction backed by Gridiron Capital and Ares Management, Common became CEO of the combined organization, partnering with Rocco Mango as President and Chief Operating Officer.
- How large is the combined Leaf Home and Erie Home organization?
Following the merger, the combined company operates more than 300 field offices with over 3,100 trained sales consultants and 2,400 licensed installers across the United States and Canada, and describes itself as North America’s largest direct-to-consumer residential home services and home improvement company.
- What industry rankings has the company achieved under Jenilee Common?
In August 2026, Leaf Home earned the No. 1 spot on both Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500 and Roofing Contractor’s Top 100 annual rankings for the first time simultaneously, becoming, according to Roofing Contractor, the first primarily residential roofing company to lead that list in at least a decade. The achievement coincided with Erie Home’s 50th anniversary. As Erie’s standalone CEO, Common also led the brand to as high as the No. 4 spot on Roofing Contractor’s Top 100 in 2023.
- What is Jenilee Common’s professional background?
Before entering the direct-to-consumer home services industry, Common spent more than 20 years in P&L, operations and finance leadership roles at global manufacturers, including Eaton Corporation and Owens Corning, where she most recently served as Vice President and General Manager of Roofing Components, running the global P&L for the roughly $10 billion company’s roofing parts, private label and geosynthetics division.
- What is the “home as a system” approach Jenilee Common has talked about?
Common has described the strategic logic behind combining Leaf Home and Erie Home as treating the home as an integrated system rather than a series of unrelated projects, pairing services that protect the home’s interior, such as baths, stair lifts and basement waterproofing, with exterior protections such as roofing and gutters, an approach she has said helps homeowners stay ahead of issues rather than reacting to them one at a time.
