HG HomeClub

“The Official Flashlight Holder”: Ken Goodrich Named Among HG HomeClub’s 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

By HG HomeClub October 4, 2026 14 min read

The Chairman of Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing is recognized for a 40-year career spent buying, rebuilding and selling home services companies, for rescuing an 80-year-old, nearly bankrupt HVAC brand and turning it into a multistate platform backed by two successive private equity firms, and for co-authoring a business framework with the man whose book once saved his own company from collapse.

HG HomeClub has named Ken Goodrich, Chairman of Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing and Founder of Generator Partners, 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.

Goodrich earns his place on it as one of the most prolific dealmakers the home services trades have produced. Over more than three decades, he has built and sold multiple HVAC and plumbing platforms, at one point reporting having built and sold seven companies to a national home service provider over a 26-year span, and by 2023, under his leadership, Goettl had expanded across Nevada, Arizona, California and Texas, generating annual revenues exceeding $250 million.

Those are the numbers. The story starts with a 10-year-old boy holding a flashlight for his father on late-night HVAC calls.

A Career That Started With a Flashlight, Not a Business Plan

Goodrich grew up watching his father, J. Duncan Goodrich, who worked as an engineer at the Nevada Test Site starting in 1957 and moonlighted repairing air conditioners, eventually building that moonlighting into a full business, Racee Air Conditioning. “I was a 10-year-old boy holding the flashlight for my dad, Duncan Goodrich, as he worked on an air conditioner for a customer,” Goodrich has said. “Through many years of being the official flashlight holder, I became a skilled HVAC technician, learned invaluable business lessons and, ultimately, how to be the best at what I do and make customers happy.” Goodrich went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Buying the Family Business, Then Losing Control of It to the IRS

At 25, Goodrich bought Racee Air Conditioning outright. He was not, by his own admission, ready to run it as a business. “Ken grew up in HVAC. He was holding a flashlight for his dad at age ten. He bought his first business at twenty five. He knew how to fix systems and he knew how to sell systems, but he did not know how to run a business,” according to an account of his early career. “That reality caught up to him fast. The IRS showed up. Payroll taxes were unpaid. His bank accounts were garnished. Trucks were taken. His employees quit on a Friday.” The turning point came from a book: a friend gave him a copy of The E-Myth, Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber in 1988, while his business was, in his own words, “in a tailspin, headed toward extinction.”

Building a Career Out of Rescuing Companies Others Had Given Up On

With the E-Myth framework in hand, Goodrich spent the following decades acquiring and rebuilding HVAC and plumbing businesses across the Southwest. He founded Yes Air Conditioning & Plumbing, and beginning in 2008 was commissioned by American Residential Services (ARS) to re-engineer and grow eight of its existing businesses across the Southwest, later serving as Western Zone President for ARS, leading 39 air conditioning and plumbing operations throughout the western United States.

Rescuing an 80-Year-Old Brand From the Brink

Goettl Air Conditioning was established in Phoenix in 1939 by brothers Gust and Sam Goettl, a name synonymous with cooled-air technology across the desert Southwest for decades before it fell into financial distress. Goodrich acquired the struggling company in 2013, when it had a location in Phoenix and a second in Tucson, and expanded it to Las Vegas in 2016. The turnaround drew industry attention: Goettl was named to the 2018 Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the United States.

Two Private Equity Partnerships, One After the Other

In August 2018, Baum Capital Partners partnered with Goodrich to recapitalize Goettl, with debt financing from Tree Line Capital Partners and Bridge Bank, capital intended to fund continued organic growth and strategic acquisitions. “At Goettl Air Conditioning, we do things the right way, not the easy way,” Goodrich said of the partnership. Just over three years later, on December 10, 2021, Cortec Group, through Cortec Fund VII, completed a growth recapitalization of Goettl in partnership with Goodrich and his management team, with Baum exiting the investment; the Goettl deal represented the fifth platform investment in Cortec’s $2.1 billion fund. “We are thrilled to have found a partner in Cortec that shares our values and vision for the next phase of Goettl’s growth,” Goodrich said of the Cortec transaction.

Reaching the 1,000-Day Target in 996

Goodrich has spoken candidly about the pressure of hitting growth targets set under private equity ownership. “When I sold part of Goettl to a private equity firm, I told our executive team that within 1,000 days, we would increase the value of the remaining business TEN-FOLD. Not only did we accomplish the goal, we did so in 996 days!” he told Nevada Business Magazine. “I’ve acquired and sold many businesses over the span of my career. Some think of me as a corporate raider, when really, I’m an entrepreneurial crusader! I love nothing more than putting together a great team and motivating them to create the impossible. I love the game.”

Handing Off the CEO Chair, Keeping the Deal-Making

On July 27, 2023, Goettl announced the promotion of President Jake Gress to Chief Executive Officer, with Goodrich, who had led the company since 2012, moving into the role of Chairman, focused on mergers and acquisitions, innovation and new business development while Gress took over day-to-day operations. “I am honored by the trust that Ken Goodrich has placed in me and the team to build upon Goettl’s numerous successes. Our goal is to Goettlize the nation and create growth opportunities for our team members,” Gress said of the transition.

Co-Authoring the Playbook With the Man Who Saved His Business

The relationship with Michael Gerber, whose book pulled Goodrich‘s first company back from the brink in 1988, eventually became a professional partnership. In October 2019, Goodrich and Gerber launched The E-Myth HVAC Contractor, co-authored together, at the Service World Expo in Las Vegas, the largest HVAC industry convention of the year. “In 1988 my business was in a tailspin, headed toward extinction,” Goodrich said of the collaboration. “A friend gifted me the book, The E-Myth, Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to do About It, by Michael E. Gerber and it changed my life forever. Now 31 years later, I have the honor of co-authoring a book and sharing the stage with the man that saved me.” The two went on to adapt the same E-Myth framework into additional trade-specific volumes, The E-Myth Plumber and The E-Myth Electrician.

Training the Next Generation, in His Father’s Name

In 2009, Goodrich created an endowment at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) establishing the J. Duncan Goodrich Air Conditioning Technology Program, named for his father, and separately endowed the Kenneth D. Goodrich CSN Post-9/11 Veteran HVAC Employment Program, providing graduating veterans with the diagnostic tools needed to begin an HVAC career. By 2017, the J. Duncan Goodrich endowment had provided more than $150,000 in scholarships and equipment to the college. For this and other community work, CSN recognized Goodrich with its Legacy of Achievement Award, and In Business magazine named him Nevada Entrepreneur of the Year.

A Governor’s Appointment to Shape Nevada’s Workforce

In July 2023, Governor Joe Lombardo appointed Goodrich to Nevada’s Governor’s Workforce Development Board, a body that helps shape statewide workforce policy under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. “Ken Goodrich is an excellent executive, but more than that, he’s a trusted and respected businessman in our state,” Lombardo said of the appointment. “Ken is an ideal addition to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, and I look forward to his contributions to the board.” The announcement also noted that Goodrich had previously founded Goettl Academy, where the company trains hundreds of new technicians each year.

Why Does Ken Goodrich 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.

Ken Goodrich influences through a career built almost entirely on the turnaround: an IRS garnishment that nearly ended his first company, an 80-year-old brand he pulled back from financial distress, and two successive private equity partnerships that took Goettl from a regional operator to a multistate platform generating more than $250 million a year. He then wrote the playbook down, literally, alongside the author whose book once saved him, and endowed the training programs meant to produce the next generation of technicians in his father’s name. That combination of dealmaking, candor about failure, and reinvestment in the trades 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 Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing

Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing, founded in Phoenix in 1939 by brothers Gust and Sam Goettl and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a leading provider of residential HVAC and plumbing maintenance, repair and replacement services across the Southwestern United States. Acquired and rebuilt by Ken Goodrich beginning in 2013, the company has expanded operations across Nevada, Arizona, California and Texas, generating annual revenues exceeding $250 million, and is led day to day by CEO Jake Gress, with Goodrich serving as Chairman. More information is available at goettl.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.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ken Goodrich, Goettl and This Recognition

  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, 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.

  1. 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.

  1. Who is Ken Goodrich?

Ken Goodrich is Chairman of Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing and founder of the investment advisory firm Generator Partners. He began working in his father’s HVAC business at age 10, purchased the family business, Racee Air Conditioning, at 25, and went on to build and sell multiple home services companies over more than three decades, including founding Yes Air Conditioning & Plumbing and serving as Western Zone President of American Residential Services. He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  1. Why was Ken Goodrich selected for this list?

Because he acquired the struggling, 80-year-old Goettl Air Conditioning brand in 2013 and rebuilt it into a multistate HVAC and plumbing platform backed successively by Baum Capital Partners and Cortec Group, generating more than $250 million in annual revenue, while also co-authoring a trades-specific business framework with Michael Gerber and endowing HVAC training programs in his father’s name at the College of Southern Nevada.

  1. How did Ken Goodrich acquire and grow Goettl Air Conditioning?

Goettl was founded in Phoenix in 1939 by brothers Gust and Sam Goettl. Goodrich acquired the financially distressed company in 2013, when it operated in Phoenix and Tucson, and expanded it to Las Vegas in 2016. In August 2018, Baum Capital Partners recapitalized the company alongside Goodrich, and in December 2021, Cortec Group completed a subsequent growth recapitalization, with Goodrich and his management team retaining an ownership stake throughout.

  1. What is The E-Myth HVAC Contractor?

The E-Myth HVAC Contractor is a book Goodrich co-authored with business author Michael E. Gerber, launched in October 2019 at the Service World Expo in Las Vegas. It adapts Gerber’s E-Myth business-systems philosophy, the same framework credited with saving Goodrich’s first company from collapse in 1988, specifically for HVAC contractors, and the pair went on to co-author companion volumes, The E-Myth Plumber and The E-Myth Electrician.

  1. When did Ken Goodrich transition from CEO to Chairman of Goettl?

On July 27, 2023, Goettl announced the promotion of President Jake Gress to Chief Executive Officer, with Goodrich, who had led the company since 2012, moving into the role of Chairman, focused on mergers and acquisitions, innovation and new business development.

  1. What educational programs has Ken Goodrich funded?

In 2009, Goodrich created an endowment at the College of Southern Nevada establishing the J. Duncan Goodrich Air Conditioning Technology Program, named for his father, and separately endowed the Kenneth D. Goodrich CSN Post-9/11 Veteran HVAC Employment Program, which provides graduating veterans with the diagnostic tools needed to begin HVAC careers.

  1. What public role does Ken Goodrich hold in Nevada?

In July 2023, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo appointed Goodrich to the state’s Governor’s Workforce Development Board, a body that helps shape statewide workforce policy. The appointment also recognized Goodrich’s earlier founding of Goettl Academy, which trains hundreds of new HVAC technicians each year.

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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