Greg Cummings Named Among HG HomeClub’s 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

The founder and chief executive officer of Power100 is recognized for building the industry’s only unbiased third-party ranking platform, for more than 1,000 leadership interviews that put the country’s best operators in the spotlight, for a speaking career that has taken his research to the biggest stages in the trades, and for a new book, Reputation Intelligence, that asks every company one hard question: would the evidence hold up?

HG HomeClub has named Greg Cummings, founder and chief executive officer of Power100, 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 contractors, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, technology platforms, franchise systems, authors, speakers, associations and media. It is presented alphabetically and carries no numerical ranking, because the leaders on it build influence in very different ways, and every one of them is recognized equally.

Greg Cummings holds a rare place on that list. Most leaders are recognized for what they built inside their own companies. Greg Cummings is recognized for what he built for everyone else: a platform that finds the leaders who are doing business the right way, studies how they do it, and tells their stories so that homeowners know who to trust and other contractors know who to learn from.

He does that work in three roles at once. As the chief executive officer of Power100, he leads the only unbiased third-party ranking platform in these industries. As a speaker and industry expert, he carries what those rankings reveal onto the stages where owners and executives gather to get better. And as an author, he has put the whole philosophy into a book, Reputation Intelligence, that is already changing how leaders think about trust in the age of AI.

This is the story of all three.

How Did a Homeowner’s Question at a Kitchen Table Become the Reason Power100 Exists?

Long before he ranked anyone, Greg Cummings was the person sitting across from a homeowner, asking for their trust.

He came up through the home improvement industry as a salesman and operator. He ran a window and door company and grew it rapidly in under three years. He knew the business from the inside: the appointment, the presentation, the install, the callback and the pressure of payroll.

One moment from those years never left him. A homeowner liked him and trusted him. Then the homeowner asked how they could know the rest of the company was like him. Would the owner follow through? Would anybody come back if something went wrong?

“That question stayed with me, because they were right,” Greg Cummings has said. “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.”

That gap is what Power100 was built to close. “After years of experience in the home improvement industry, I noticed the need for an unbiased third-party resource that reveals the best companies to work with for your home project,” Greg Cummings has explained. “With the help of an amazing team, we built the first of its kind.”

His personal mission is written in plain words: “Hi, my name is Greg Cummings and I am on a mission to revolutionize the home improvement industry.” And the purpose behind it is just as plain: to help every great contractor so Power100 can ultimately help every homeowner.

What Makes Power100 the Only Unbiased Third-Party Ranking Platform in the Industry?

Rankings are everywhere in home improvement. Most of them share a problem. Somebody applied, somebody paid, or somebody sponsored the event where the plaque was handed out.

Power100 was designed to be the opposite. There is no paid placement. There is no application. There is no pay-to-play. A company cannot buy its way onto the National Power Rankings, and a company cannot nominate itself. Its guiding principle is simple: performance, not politics, should decide who rises to the top.

The proof of that shows up in the most honest reactions. When James Freeman, chief executive officer of PJ Fitzpatrick, learned he had been named the No. 1 CEO in the nation for 2026, his first words were: “I didn’t even know I was on the list until you called.”

That is how an independent ranking is supposed to work.

Behind it sits a five-layer proprietary ranking system that Greg Cummings built to combine artificial intelligence, machine learning and human evaluation. Data does the wide search. People do the deep review, at several points along the way. Together, the layers look at the things that actually decide whether a company deserves a homeowner’s trust:

• Leadership: how the chief executive leads, develops people and sets the standard.
• Company culture: whether employees believe in the company and stay with it.
• Customer experience: what homeowners say, and what they do next.
• Community impact: how the company shows up in the places it serves.
• Sustainable growth and financial health: whether the business is built to keep its promises for years, not months.

“Our rankings are independent and data-driven,” Greg Cummings has said. “When we put out a list, it’s powerful and trusted.”

A Database of More Than 360,000 Leaders 

Scale is what gives the rankings their weight. The Power100 database now holds more than 360,000 leaders across home improvement, home services and outdoor living. These are the owners, executives and partners who do the work in every market in the country.

From that pool, the five layers narrow the field again and again, until what is left are the leaders doing business the right way: the ones with great company culture, real community impact and fast, healthy growth. Those leaders become the National Power Rankings, the Top CEOs, the Preferred Partners and the category leaders that homeowners and professionals now rely on.

The platform has grown into far more than a list. The Power100 site now offers the Power100 Concierge, an AI guide that draws on more than 1,171 articles and 92 shows, so a homeowner or contractor can ask a question and get an answer rooted in the stories of top-ranked leaders. Its media arm, Power100 Media, produces the PowerChat podcast, executive interviews, day-in-the-life features and live event coverage.

PowerChat has become one of the most important shows in the trades. HG HomeClub placed it at No. 3 on its ranking of the industry’s most influential podcasts. Every week it asks leaders how they lead through hard times, and about the moment their “why” shifts from income to influence.

That is why Power100 is the No. 1 external resource for the nation’s top CEOs and the largest consumer advocacy platform in the United States.

What Did More Than 1,000 Interviews With the Industry’s Best Leaders Teach Greg Cummings?

The heart of Power100 is not an algorithm. It is a conversation.

Greg Cummings has personally done more than 1,000 interviews with the leaders who run the best companies in these industries, and that number has now passed 1,200 one-on-one conversations with CEOs, founders and operators. He did not just ask them questions from a studio. He went into their companies. He sat with their executive teams, walked their offices and spoke with their employees, installers and homeowners.

“We didn’t just ask these leaders questions,” he has said. “We spent time in their companies.”

Across those conversations, a clear pattern appeared. The best leaders were not winning because of one clever tactic. They were winning because of culture, discipline and trust. Greg Cummings sums it up in one line he returns to again and again: “Communication is the main force that drives culture, and culture is the main force that drives success.”

Five of those interviews show what great leadership looks like better than any summary could.

What Did James Freeman Reveal About Building a Culture That Lives Beyond the Wall?

James Freeman, chief executive officer of PJ Fitzpatrick, is the No. 1 CEO in the nation on the Power100 rankings for 2026.

In his featured interview with Greg Cummings, James Freeman looked back on a year of pressure and talked about what carried PJ Fitzpatrick through it: a resilient team, clear communication, a deep bench of developing leaders, and a company-wide network of people who learn from each other. He walked through a recent acquisition, the plans to scale, and how he builds a culture where leaders at every level feel ready to grow.

“Luck favors the prepared,” James Freeman said. “We’re a culturally driven company that don’t put the actual words up on the wall but live them in all of our interactions amongst each other and with our customers on a day to day basis.”

He explained the logic in one breath. “Those core values are about taking care of our people. Because if we take care of our people, we can execute on the fifth core value, which is wowing every customer.”

Greg Cummings was just as direct about why he ranks him first. “James is our number one ranked CEO,” he said, noting that James Freeman is “an open book” who shares what is working so the whole industry can get better.

When the 2026 ranking was announced, PJ Fitzpatrick spoke for its whole team. “We’re incredibly proud to see our CEO, James Freeman, named the #1 CEO in the nation by POWER100 National Power Rankings,” the company said. “This recognition reflects more than growth. It represents transparent leadership, a people-first culture, and a team committed to doing the right things for our customers and each other.”

James Freeman gave the honor straight back to his people: “This honor is about the team at PJ Fitzpatrick. They are second to none.”

The lesson for other contractors: values only matter when they are lived, and a leader who takes care of people first will find customers taken care of too.

What Did Peter Svedin Reveal About Winning on Retention, Not Just Revenue?

Peter Svedin, chief executive officer of Lifetime Home Remodeling, is the No. 2 CEO in the nation on the Power100 rankings for 2026.

In his featured interview with Greg Cummings, Peter Svedin went back to his childhood, where he learned that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. He talked about the training that every new team member at Lifetime Home Remodeling receives, the field marketing engine that runs about 700 event days a year, the expansion into San Diego, and a rebrand that brought the company under one unified name so homeowners could see everything it offers.

Then he said something that most CEOs never say out loud. “It’s really easy in this business to talk dollars and cents because that’s how the business is,” Peter Svedin said. “But it would be really cool to win on retention of employees.”

He tied that to the homeowner, too. “We pride ourselves in working with homeowners and making them completely satisfied,” he said. “We want them to come back and buy other projects from us.”

His advice to the next generation of leaders was short: “Go out there and try something. Don’t be afraid to fail.”

“Peter Svedin represents the kind of leader Power100 was created to recognize,” Greg Cummings said. “When we evaluate the top CEOs in the country, we are looking for much more than growth. We are looking for leaders who build people, create repeatable systems, protect customer trust, invest in culture, and make the communities around them stronger.” He added: “The companies that rise to the top are the ones that build leaders, not dependencies.”

The lesson for other contractors: the strongest growth story is the one your employees choose to stay for.

What Andy Lindus Revealed About Doing Everything the Best Way Possible

Andy Lindus, chief executive officer of Lindus Construction, is the No. 4 CEO in the nation on the Power100 rankings for 2026.

Greg Cummings sat down with him in January 2025 in Baldwin, Wisconsin, at the family company that has served homeowners since 1979. Lindus Construction has served more than 100,000 customers. Its employees stay an average of 13 years, and about 70 percent of its revenue comes from past customers and referrals.

“Everything that we want to do, we want to do it the best way possible,” Andy Lindus said. He talked about how the company builds its own technology through ContractorFlow, because “the reason why most CRMs fail is because they don’t have contractors running them.” He talked about hiring for attitude: “If you have zero skills but want to have those skills, we will show you.” And he talked about leading through change: “When people know the ‘why,’ it’s easier to get them on board.”

“As a family-owned company, the people behind the work matter just as much as the work itself,” Andy Lindus has said. “I believe the best leaders put their people first, prioritizing their happiness, success, and security. The bottom line comes second.”

The lesson for other contractors: long tenure, repeat customers and referrals are not luck. They are what happens when people come first.

What Caleb Nelson Revealed About Why Homeowners Choose the Company That Respects Them

Caleb Nelson, founder and chief executive officer of Destination Motivation, leads the No. 1 Preferred Partner in the nation on the Power100 rankings, selected from more than 3,600 partners.

In his conversations with Greg Cummings, Caleb Nelson explained why customer experience has become the strongest sales advantage in home improvement. “When a homeowner feels respected and understood, that trust becomes the real reason they choose a company,” he said. “Homeowners want to know that the person sitting at their kitchen table actually cares.”

His team lives the same idea. Brett Thornton of Destination Motivation described the work as “not just selling something but is actually truly making a difference,” and called it a “true win-win-win” for the homeowner, the contractor and the company.

Caleb Nelson measures success in a bigger way, too. “Success isn’t just measured in revenue or assets,” he has said. “It’s measured in the life you’re creating with and for your family.”

The lesson for other contractors: people don’t just buy the product or the price. They buy the person, and the experience that person creates.

What Did Dominic Caminata Reveal About Carrying a Sales Legacy Forward?

Dominic Caminata, chief executive officer and founder of Grosso University, leads the No. 3 Preferred Partner in the nation and the No. 1 Sales Training Organization in home improvement on the Power100 rankings for 2026. He carries that recognition proudly, right in the headline of his professional profile.

In his featured interview with Greg Cummings, Dominic Caminata told the story of how it started. “In 2011, when I first got recognized as salesman of the year at Mad City Windows & Baths, I had the opportunity to meet Rick Grosso,” he said, “and at that point in time I made up my mind that I didn’t just want to learn his system and master his methodology, I wanted to be him.”

Today, Grosso University trains sales teams across the country, including through its first-of-its-kind Spanish sales training platform. “We’re changing lives and that’s really what this is all about,” Dominic Caminata said. “Anytime you get an opportunity to train somebody, give them the best training experience of their life. Period. End of story.”

Greg Cummings explained why Grosso University keeps rising. “Contractors are tired of flavor-of-the-month training that doesn’t stick,” he said. “What makes Grosso University different is their commitment to implementation.” And he made the larger point that runs through every Power100 story: “We’re not just ranking numbers; we’re spotlighting partners like Grosso University that are leading the industry toward healthier, more sustainable ways of selling and growing.”

The lesson for other contractors: a great system only works when people use it every day, and the best trainers are the ones who have lived it.

What These Interviews Revealed About Great Leadership, and How Other Contractors Learn From Them

Put the five conversations side by side and a common thread appears. James Freeman lives his values instead of hanging them on a wall. Peter Svedin wants to win on retention. Andy Lindus puts people before the bottom line. Caleb Nelson builds trust through respect. Dominic Caminata builds systems people actually use.

None of them talks first about marketing spend or lead volume. They talk about people, culture and trust.

That is the point of the work Greg Cummings does. The rankings recognize the leaders who deserve it. The interviews turn their habits into lessons. And every contractor who watches a PowerChat, reads a feature on Power100 or sits in one of his sessions gets to learn from the people who are doing business the right way, without having to make the same mistakes first.

Other honorees say the same about the recognition itself. “I am honored to be recognized by Power100 as a top CEO, and this achievement is a reflection of the incredible team at Expo Home Improvement,” said Paul Dietzler, owner of Expo Home Improvement and the No. 3 CEO in the nation for 2026.

“Homeowners are not just searching anymore; they are verifying,” Greg Cummings has said. “The companies that rise in 2026 and beyond will be the ones whose culture, customer experience, and reputation are strong enough to be affirmed everywhere people look.”

Why Do the Industry’s Biggest Stages Keep Inviting Greg Cummings to Speak?

Data is only useful if it reaches the people who can act on it. That is why Greg Cummings spends so much of his year on stage.

He is a national keynote speaker on identity, leadership, legacy and AI relevance. His talks are built on something almost no other speaker can bring into the room: a data set drawn from more than 1,200 conversations with the people actually running the best companies, cross-checked against analysis of more than 360,000 leaders and companies. He does not speak in theory. He speaks in patterns he has seen over and over again inside real companies.

His speaking spans four audiences. For professional audiences, he teaches the traits of the best companies. For contractors facing AI search, he runs hands-on workshops on how to own the Affirmation Search. For athletes and teams, he talks about playing for a lifetime goal instead of only today’s game. And for young people, he talks about mindset and work ethic, which he has shared as a volunteer speaker with students since 2018.

His own motto sets the tone for every talk: “Just don’t waste. Not a second. Not a day.”

Greg Cummings Took the REVx 2026 Stage With Nick Zindel and Joe Swett

The most recent stop was REVx 2026, the Peak Profit Summit presented by Dave Yoho Associates, held June 2 to 4, 2026, at The Westin Chicago Lombard in Lombard, Illinois. The event brought together owners, executives, sales leaders, marketing teams, installation leaders and HR teams from across home improvement, remodeling and home services. It was also a historic week, marking the final live appearance of industry legend Dave Yoho.

Greg Cummings led a panel presentation with Nick Zindel, president and chief executive officer of Zintex Remodeling Group, and Joe Swett, chief executive officer and founder of Sunrise Irrigation and Sprinklers. The question on the table was the one every owner is asking: what does it take to run a successful business in 2026 and beyond?

Greg Cummings opened with a warning. “Great companies do not win the future by reacting late,” he said. “They win by building truth, trust, culture, and visibility before the market forces them to.”

Nick Zindel spoke about disciplined growth and cash clarity. “Scaling a business is not just about adding markets or revenue,” he said, making the case that strong companies get their numbers and their culture right before they chase size.

Joe Swett brought a people-first growth lesson from the home services side. Greg Cummings pushed him on how an irrigation technician could earn $100,000, $200,000 or even $300,000 a year, and what systems would make that possible. “I want to take care of them,” Joe Swett said. “It’s a two way street.” He added: “Running a successful business in 2026 is not about doing more noise.”

The Five Pillars of Exceptional Leadership That Greg Cummings Unveiled at The Pinnacle Experience 2025

One of the most talked-about keynotes of his career came at The Pinnacle Experience 2025, hosted by Pro Remodeler at the JW Marriott Chicago in Chicago. On June 19, 2025, Greg Cummings stepped on stage to reveal the results of a two-year study of the nation’s most successful privately held home improvement leaders, built on more than 1,000 interviews with CEOs, executive teams, employees, installers and homeowners. The full presentation laid out five pillars:

• Brand Focus. Build a culture so strong that every employee believes the company is the best in the world. “If I ask any one of your employees, ‘Is this the best company in the world?’ and they don’t get that glitter in their eyes, that absolute belief, then you have massive room for opportunity,” he said. “Culture is the sole driver of success.”
• The Project Manager as Quarterback. The project manager is the keeper of the culture and the link between sales and installation. “They are the person responsible for ensuring every customer feels like they’ve stayed at the Ritz-Carlton,” he said.
• Unbreakable Commitment. Trust is built one meeting at a time. “Culture changes one meeting at a time,” he said. “Unbreakable commitment is your first step to a new and better culture.”
• Sales Rangers. Sales teams should train like elite soldiers and treat every appointment as a rescue mission. “You’re not just selling a window or a roof,” he said. The job, as he put it, is protecting that homeowner from the risk of hiring the wrong contractor.
• HOGs, or Huge Outrageous Goals. Big goals are the real test of whether a team believes in the vision. “Stop chasing every problem, you’ll create more than you solve,” he said. “When you can stand in front of your company and say with confidence that you’re the best company in the world, you feel it. That’s when you can achieve almost anything.”

The room responded. Daniel Morrison, editorial director of Pro Remodeler, said: “I was glad to see Greg Cummings speaking on stage. He was very energetic, and the top leaders were taking notes, suggesting that something good was happening. The best part of the speech was the motivational side, being able to talk about how to really get behind the processes and turn those around.”

Dustin Kirby, director of business development at gFour Marketing Group, said: “It was great hearing Greg‘s back story. You can tell he is a winner.”

Alex Marck, chief executive officer of 1st Call Closer, put it simply: “Greg Cummings‘s speech was top-notch.”

How Did Greg Cummings Help Top CEOs Navigate a Changing Market at The Pinnacle Experience 2024?

A year earlier, Greg Cummings was on stage at The Pinnacle Experience 2024, held June 26 to 28, 2024, at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore. He led a panel presentation titled “Leadership Through a Changing Environment” with two of the nation’s top-ranked CEOs: Jeff Gunhus, co-founder and chief executive officer of Home Genius Exteriors, and Patrick Rinard, former chief executive officer of BEE Window.

Together they covered where the home improvement industry is now and how it got there, what the economy had in store that leaders needed to prepare for, and what actions, tools and processes companies needed in place to secure their future.

Both panelists are leaders Greg Cummings knows well. Jeff Gunhus is the No. 5 CEO in the nation for 2026, and Greg Cummings has called him the future of home improvement leadership. Patrick Rinard is a keynote speaker in his own right, known for his three-step meeting system and his belief that salespeople should walk into every home knowing they have already earned the homeowner’s trust.

At the same event, Greg Cummings also sat down with keynote speaker Marcus Sheridan to talk about how AI is a hidden golden opportunity for blue-collar workers across the country, a conversation that foreshadowed much of the thinking in his new book.

Greg Cummings’ Lessons on Accountability at the Peak Profit Summit 2024 

At the Peak Profit Summit 2024, presented by Dave Yoho Associates from April 30 to May 2, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency Houston West, Greg Cummings led a panel presentation with James Freeman, chief executive officer of PJ Fitzpatrick, and Steve McNary, former chief executive officer of Southwest Exteriors and a member of the Power100 Advisory Board.

The topic was how to build a culture of accountability from the top down. Greg Cummings opened by reframing the word itself, then walked the room through the structure that makes accountability real: daily huddles, weekly executive meetings, monthly one-on-ones, clear KPIs and one source of truth for the numbers. He made the case that when leaders own their results, they don’t just strengthen their own companies. They lift the reputation of the whole industry.

His panelists delivered lines that owners carried home. “Responsibility is the what. Accountability is the why,” James Freeman said. “You are always on stage. Your team is watching what you do more than what you say.” Steve McNary added: “Culture is what makes you survive. We measure culture just like we measure revenue.”

Where Else Has Greg Cummings Shared His Research With the Industry?

The list keeps growing.

• The AGOGE Growth and Profitability Summit. Greg Cummings was a featured speaker at AGOGE, hosted by Grosso University on November 14 and 15, 2024, at the Omni Amelia Island Resort in Florida, sharing the stage with some of the most driven sales leaders in the country.
• The Extreme Leadership Workshop. At the Grosso University campus in Windsor, Wisconsin, he served as a featured co-mentor and speaker, giving leaders a data-backed roadmap for building a “1% company culture” and moving from quick sales wins to lasting, high-equity companies.
• The International Roofing Expo. In San Antonio, he joined Dominic Caminata to connect with roofing leaders from across the country.
• Industry events and trips. He has joined Destination Motivation in San Diego and attended the Westlake Royal Building Products JLC Live event in Providence, Rhode Island, alongside Power100 Advisory Board member Paul Burleson.
• Schools, teams and communities. Beyond the trades, he speaks to students, athletic programs and community groups about identity, work ethic and legacy.

Leaders and event hosts who want to bring him to their stage can book him through gregcummings.us.

What Is Reputation Intelligence, and Why Is Every Business Owner Being Asked to Picture a Courtroom?

The third side of Greg Cummings may end up being the one with the longest reach. He is the author of Reputation Intelligence, a new book publishing in fall 2026 that puts everything he has learned from ranking, interviewing and speaking into one clear argument.

The book opens in a courtroom, and it means the image literally.

“Your business is on trial,” Greg Cummings writes. “Not metaphorically in the way business books like to tell you that every day is a battle or every customer is a judge. I want you to actually picture the courtroom.”

You are at the defense table. Your employees are sitting behind you. Your family is there. The jury box is not twelve people from your hometown. It is the platforms that answer when somebody asks about your company. The charge carries a life sentence for the business. Nobody reads the verdict out loud. The calls just stop coming.

Reputation Intelligence is about what to do about that, in the only order that works: build the company first, then build the evidence, then earn the answer.

It calls itself the credit report for your business. Not a vanity report, not a certificate and not a score designed to make everybody feel good, but an honest look at what the outside world can actually find out about your company: where you are strong, where you are weak, what employees say, what customers say, and what a stranger would conclude from the record alone.

What Will Leaders Find Inside Reputation Intelligence, Chapter by Chapter?

The argument moves in a clear order across nineteen chapters.

• Your Business Is on Trial (Prologue). The charge carries a life sentence for the business, the jury can judge only the evidence it can find, and you are not in the room.
• The Two Kitchen Tables (Chapters 1 and 7). One table has an appointment time. The other one is open at midnight, and nobody from your company is at it.
• The Five Pillars (Chapters 2 to 6). The first half of the book is not about evidence at all. It is about whether there is anything worth being evidence of.
• The Emphatic YES (Chapter 8). Weak evidence produces weak language. “They appear to be a reasonable option” is not a bad answer. It is the jury opening a thin file.
• The Evidence Gap (Chapters 9 and 10). Almost every great independently owned company is better than the internet makes it look. That sentence should scare you, and the reason is not the internet.
• See What the Jury Sees (Chapter 11). You know your company too well. That is sometimes an advantage, and sometimes the reason you cannot see it clearly.
• The Standard (Chapters 12 and 13). A ranking means nothing if everybody can have it. An award means nothing if money can buy it.
• Worthy of Recommendation (Chapters 14, 15 and 16). Three companies walk into the same courtroom. All three want the same verdict. They do not deserve the same strategy.

Along the way, the book defines the Affirmation Search: any search run with a company’s name already in it, the moment someone who already knows you decides what to believe about you. It explains why that moment now decides so many deals, and it lists the ten questions people keep asking at that midnight kitchen table.

Reputation Intelligence Goes Beyond SEO, Reviews, and AI Tricks 

Greg Cummings is blunt about what the book is not. It is not reputation management. It is not SEO. It is not review management. And it is not a manual for getting a search engine to say nicer things about you.

“If you finish this book believing the answer is more content, I failed,” he writes. “If you finish believing the answer is better SEO, I failed. If you finish believing the answer is getting AI to say nicer things about you, I failed.”

AI is the reason the question became urgent, not the subject of the book. As it puts it, AI did not create the need for trust. It exposed how much of trust has always depended on the evidence people can find.

That is why the book is written as a challenge rather than a compliment. It asks whether revenue is hiding weakness, whether the culture would survive without the owner, and whether the company would look more impressive or less impressive if somebody looked closer. Reality first. Evidence second.

It also explains the thinking behind Power100 itself. A company cannot buy its way to the appearance of credibility, because the moment money can buy the verdict, the verdict loses its value. “Power100 doesn’t decide the verdict,” Greg Cummings writes. “Power100 makes sure the jury has the evidence.”

Who Should Read Reputation Intelligence, and How Can You Get Your Copy?

Reputation Intelligence is written for leaders of companies that serve the public and for the leaders being developed underneath them. Its examples come from home improvement, where a warranty is a promise made by the company of today about the company of tomorrow. But its argument travels anywhere a stranger has to decide whether to trust a company they cannot walk through.

It is not only for the biggest company in the market, and it is not only for the company chasing a hundred million dollars. In the book’s own words: size is not the point. Strength is.

Greg Cummings has been clear about what he hopes the book will leave behind. “Twenty years from now, I want to look back and see more than a successful platform or a successful book,” he writes. “I want to see stronger leaders, stronger communities, and more privately held businesses that became something people were proud to belong to. I want hope.”

For any owner who has ever wondered whether the outside world sees the company they know they have built, this is the book to read next. Leaders can get their copy of Reputation Intelligence at reputationintelligence.io.

Why Does Greg Cummings Belong Among the 25 Most Influential Leaders in These Industries?

Influence in these industries takes many forms. Some leaders influence through the size of their companies. Some influence through a product, a franchise system or a supply network.

Greg Cummings influences through trust, and he does it in the right way.

He built Power100, the only unbiased third-party ranking platform in these industries, on a five-layer system that cannot be bought and does not take applications. He built a database of more than 360,000 leaders and used it to find the ones doing business the right way. He has done more than 1,000 interviews with those leaders and turned their habits into lessons that any contractor can use. He has carried that research onto the stages of REVx, The Pinnacle Experience, the Peak Profit Summit and AGOGE. And with Reputation Intelligence, he has given every business owner a way to see what the jury sees.

That combination is exactly what 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.

Who Else Made the List? 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

1. 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. It is presented alphabetically, with no numerical order, and every leader on it is recognized equally.

2. Who is Greg Cummings?

Greg Cummings is the founder and chief executive officer of Power100, a national keynote speaker, the host of PowerChat, and the author of Reputation Intelligence. He came up through home improvement as a salesman and operator, grew a window and door company to $10 million in annual revenue in under three years, and then built Power100 to give homeowners and contractors an independent way to know who to trust.

3. Why was Greg Cummings selected for this list?

Because he has built the independent system that helps the whole industry see its best leaders. He created the only unbiased third-party ranking platform in home improvement, home services and outdoor living, built a database of more than 360,000 leaders, did more than 1,000 interviews with top operators, took their lessons to the industry’s biggest stages, and wrote a book that gives every company a way to measure and earn trust.

4. What makes Power100 different from other industry rankings and awards?

Power100 accepts no paid placement, no applications and no pay-to-play. Its five-layer proprietary ranking system combines artificial intelligence, machine learning and human evaluation to study leadership, culture, customer experience, community impact and sustainable growth. Many honorees do not even know they are being considered. As James Freeman of PJ Fitzpatrick put it: “I didn’t even know I was on the list until you called.”

5. How many leaders does Power100 evaluate?

The Power100 database holds more than 360,000 leaders across home improvement, home services and outdoor living. The five-layer system narrows that pool again and again to find the leaders doing business the right way, who then appear on the National Power Rankings and in its Preferred Partner and category recognitions.

6. Which leaders has Greg Cummings interviewed, and what do those interviews reveal?

Greg Cummings has done more than 1,000 interviews, including featured interviews with James Freeman of PJ Fitzpatrick, Peter Svedin of Lifetime Home Remodeling, Andy Lindus of Lindus Construction, Caleb Nelson of Destination Motivation and Dominic Caminata of Grosso University. Together they show that great leadership is built on people, culture and trust.

7. Where has Greg Cummings spoken?

Recent stages include REVx 2026 in Lombard, Illinois, with Nick Zindel and Joe Swett; The Pinnacle Experience 2025 in Chicago, where he unveiled the Five Pillars of Exceptional Leadership; the AGOGE Growth and Profitability Summit hosted by Grosso University; the Peak Profit Summit 2024 in Houston with James Freeman and Steve McNary; and The Pinnacle Experience 2024 in Baltimore with Jeff Gunhus and Patrick Rinard. More about his speaking is available at gregcummings.us.

8. What are the Five Pillars of Exceptional Leadership?

They are the findings of a two-year study of the nation’s top home improvement leaders that Greg Cummings presented at The Pinnacle Experience 2025: Brand Focus, the Project Manager as Quarterback, Unbreakable Commitment, Sales Rangers and HOGs, or Huge Outrageous Goals. Each pillar gives leaders a practical way to strengthen culture, operations and growth.

9. What is the book Reputation Intelligence about?

Reputation Intelligence is about building a company worthy of recommendation and then making the truth of that company findable. It frames every business as being on trial, with AI platforms and search results acting as the jury, and lays out the only order that works: build the company first, then build the evidence, then earn the answer. It is not a book about SEO, reviews or reputation management. It is described as the credit report for your business.

10. When does Reputation Intelligence publish, and how can readers get a copy?

Reputation Intelligence by Greg Cummings publishes in fall 2026. Readers can get their copy and explore the chapters at reputationintelligence.io.