How to Hire a CEO in Home Services & Franchising: What Boards and Investors Should Look For

As Global Head of Research & Leadership Advisory at JRG Partners, I wrote this guide for boards and investors on how to hire a CEO in Home Services & Franchising. The sector is an industry where private-equity-driven consolidation, franchise-model scaling, and digital customer acquisition are transforming fragmented local trades into national platforms, and the CEO profile that succeeds in it is specific: a leader who can build a scaled multi-brand home-services platform, master digital customer acquisition, solve the technician-workforce challenge, and drive the franchise-development and integration the consolidation model demands.

The Home Services & Franchising CEO Mandate in 2026

Before assessing candidates, boards should agree what the next three to five years demand. In Home Services & Franchising, that context is shaped by three forces: Private-equity-driven consolidation is transforming fragmented local operators into scaled multi-brand platforms. Digital customer acquisition and lead generation have become decisive competitive capabilities. Technician and franchise-workforce economics are the binding operational constraint. The right CEO is defined by which of these the company must navigate most urgently.

What to Look For in a Home Services & Franchising CEO

The profile that succeeds is a leader who can build a scaled multi-brand home-services platform, master digital customer acquisition, solve the technician-workforce challenge, and drive the franchise-development and integration the consolidation model demands. Concretely, boards should probe for multi-site or franchise service-delivery command; franchise-development and franchisee-relationship leadership; digital customer-acquisition and lead-generation fluency; technician workforce recruitment and retention.

Where Home Services & Franchising CEOs Come From

The strongest candidates are drawn from home-services and franchise companies (operations and franchise depth); multi-site and field-services businesses (scaling leadership); consumer and digital-marketing companies (customer-acquisition expertise); private-equity-backed platforms (integration experience). Boards should map all of these pools rather than defaulting to obvious internal or direct-competitor candidates.

The Board’s Role in the Search

A CEO search is the board’s most consequential act. The failure patterns are consistent: mandate ambiguity that surfaces at finalist stage, over-weighting charisma over the specific capabilities the sector demands, rushing or drifting the process, and neglecting rigorous referencing under time pressure. Boards that align on the mandate in writing, run a structured assessment, and reference beyond the candidate-supplied list consistently outperform.

Compensation and Closing the Home Services & Franchising CEO

Compensation reflects the private-equity platform and franchise models, pairing cash with equity tied to platform value creation; digital-marketing, franchise-development, and integration leadership command premiums. The CEO package must reflect the sector’s ownership structure and the profile’s scarcity, and the close depends as much on the mandate’s credibility as on the number. Our Home Services & Franchising executive compensation report details the benchmarks.

Related Home Services & Franchising Resources

See also Home Services & Franchising executive search guide, Home Services & Franchising top 10 in-demand roles, Home Services & Franchising executive compensation report.

Tanya Gallardo

Managing Director, Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy

Tanya Gallardo is the Managing Director of Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy at JRG Partners, leading C-suite and Board engagements across key growth sectors including Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.

With over 18 years of experience specializing in disruptive technology leadership, Tanya is recognized as a leading authority on talent architecture for future-focused executive roles, such as the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Her expertise lies in accurately assessing the cultural fit and technical depth required to ensure a high return on investment (ROI) for critical leadership appointments.

Prior to her role at JRG Partners, Tanya held senior roles directing global talent acquisition strategies at a major publicly-traded technology firm, advising on organizational design and succession planning for emerging executive functions. She is a recognized speaker and contributor to industry events, sharing data-driven insights on executive compensation, leadership development, and the measurable business impact of C-suite talent.

Connect with Tanya to discuss your executive search needs.