It’s a team effort to grow and develop a roofing company

By Dani Sheehan. 

Getting a start in roofing in his teens, Geoff shares about his journey in the industry, the growth he’s experienced and the people who have helped him along the way. 

In a recent episode of Stories from the Roof sponsored by Johns Manville, Megan Ellsworth hears from Geoff Mitchell, the CEO of Mid-South Roof Systems in Georgia. A podcast entirely devoted to celebrating the roofing industry and the great people who work in it, we explore the intricacies of Geoff’s professional journey and learn about key experiences that have shaped his trajectory in roofing. 

Geoff has been in the roofing industry for 27 years and in his current role as CEO for the last 10. He tells us a little bit about how he started roofing: “I think I was 17 or 18 and I needed to get a real job. I'd been working in the restaurant industry for probably two years and was looking to go to college and was dating/engaged and just needed to get a real job. So happened to know the founder of Mid-South Roof Systems through church, and I started working here. At the time the company I think had maybe 30 employees working out of a small house.” 

When he started, the company was still very entrepreneurial, and they needed someone who was good with computers and could run around and pick up plans. His entrance into the roofing industry was more from a project management and estimating standpoint. He continues, “I feel really lucky and blessed to have been a part of that evolution. It is a team effort. I'm here telling my story, but maybe 30 employees then to 200-plus employees now. Clearly as you go through those 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 evolutions, it's a team effort. It takes managers and leaders to the new hire, everybody to get that done and to continue to grow the company and develop it.” 

As he helped move the company along through these various evolutions, he shares that he learned a lot about roofing by getting involved in the NRCA. He explains, “I think for me, learning about roofing in [evolution] 2.0 was really getting involved in NRCA’s FEI program. Really learning about the rest of the industry... and realizing, oh wow, there’s all these other great companies out there [to learn from].” 

One of Geoff’s favorite parts and most important aspects of roofing is the ability to learn from others. Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn from his experiences and how he got to where he is as CEO.