Leadership changes at the top of a building products company ripple through the entire supply chain. Distributors adjust account coverage, contractors watch pricing strategy, and employees look for signals about culture and direction. A well-run succession plan removes the guesswork. When Roseburg Forest Products announced that president and CEO Grady Mulbery would retire on September 30 and chief operating officer Stuart Gray would step into the role on October 1, the company laid out the full sequence in a single announcement: a unanimous board election, a defined handover date, a continued board seat for the outgoing CEO through year-end, and an advisory role through the following year.
That level of planning deserves study across the industry, because the building materials sector depends on leaders who understand both manufacturing and markets. Companies that treat leadership as a developable skill, the way the concrete industry has through women in concrete leadership efforts such as the American Concrete Institute’s vice presidency, build a deeper bench than firms that react to a vacancy. The sections below cover how transitions are staged, how boards pick successors, how internal talent is developed, and how the retirement side of the handover gets managed.
How Leadership Transitions Unfold in Building Materials Companies
A planned transition runs through recognizable stages, and the Roseburg handover shows all of them. The outgoing executive announced a retirement date roughly two months out, the board unanimously elected the successor, and the two leaders shared a defined overlap before the title change took effect. Mulbery’s 12-year tenure included stops as vice president of composites and vice president of operations before he became CEO in 2016, which gave the board a long record to evaluate when the succession decision arrived.
The market reads these signals carefully. When a manufacturer’s president steps down, customers and suppliers want to know whether pricing, product strategy, and service levels will hold. Executives in the aerial equipment industry make the same case: Snorkel’s president has tied long-term dealer and rental relationships to steady leadership through market trends and the future of access equipment.
The Stages of a Planned CEO Transition
- The board initiates a succession review, usually one to three years before the expected exit
- Internal candidates take on expanded roles to test readiness, as Gray did when he became COO
- The company announces the plan with effective dates for both roles
- The outgoing leader exits day-to-day management and moves to board or advisory duties
- The new leader sets strategy and the board reviews progress at regular intervals
What the Market Watches During a Transition
- Whether the successor comes from inside the company, which signals continuity
- The length of the overlap between old and new leadership
- Whether the outgoing executive stays involved, and in what capacity
- Any simultaneous changes to the board or executive team
The Board’s Role in Choosing the Next Leader
Boards own the succession decision, and they approach it with the same rigor they apply to capital projects. In the cement industry, the PCA board of directors named Michael Ireland president and CEO and elected new members in the same cycle, a reminder that leadership changes often arrive in groups as boards refresh their own composition.
Board evaluation criteria typically split into two baskets. Operational credentials cover manufacturing, supply chain, and profit-and-loss experience. Strategic credentials cover capital allocation, mergers and acquisitions, and market development. A candidate who has run a business unit and worked through a full economic cycle usually ranks ahead of a functional expert who has never held end-to-end responsibility.
Boards also weigh how a candidate communicates with owners, because in family-owned and privately held companies, the CEO carries the owner’s trust into every major decision. A successor who has already presented capital requests, defended budgets, and explained setbacks to the board arrives with the relationship half-built.
Criteria Boards Use to Evaluate Candidates
- Direct profit-and-loss responsibility for a business unit or region
- Experience across the full cycle, including downturns and capacity expansions
- Credibility with customers, dealers, and employees
- Alignment with the owner’s long-term strategy
Building a Pipeline of Internal Leaders
The strongest succession plans start years before the vacancy exists. Roseburg’s path illustrates the pattern: Gray joined in 2017 as senior vice president and general counsel, took over manufacturing as chief operating officer in January 2022, and moved into the CEO role in October 2023. Mulbery followed a similar ladder, moving from vice president of composites to vice president of operations and then to the top job. Both careers spent time in operations before the corner office, which is common among manufacturing CEOs.
Internal candidates bring context that outsiders cannot buy. They know the plant network, the customer relationships, and the culture, and company data on transitions supports the practice: firms that promote from within tend to see smoother handovers and fewer strategy reversals than firms that hire externally. That is why development plans matter. Veteran manufacturing leaders package what they have learned into lessons in leadership, offering career advice for women and young people entering the industry.
How a Successor Is Developed Over Years
- Rotations across functions such as legal, operations, sales, and finance
- Growing profit-and-loss responsibility, from a plant to a division to the whole company
- Board and owner exposure so the candidate learns how governance works
- Executive education, from short courses to full degree programs
Education and Credentials That Matter for Top Roles
Formal credentials support operational experience rather than replace it. Gray holds a law degree from Emory University School of Law and an MBA from MIT Sloan, a combination that maps directly to the legal, compliance, and business development duties he handled before becoming COO. For a manufacturing CEO, the specific degrees matter less than demonstrated ability to run operations and allocate capital.
Planning the Retirement Side of the Transition
Succession has two sides, and the outgoing executive faces decisions that take months to resolve. Retirement timing affects pension and deferred compensation payouts, health coverage, and the terms of any continued board service. Mulbery’s arrangement, remaining on the board through the end of the year and serving as an executive advisor through the following year, shows how companies keep institutional knowledge available without blocking the new leader.
A written transition agreement that covers compensation, benefits, and consulting terms protects both the executive and the company when questions arise later. Executives should review the agreement with a financial planner and an attorney well before the announcement date, because the terms negotiated during a departure are harder to revisit once the role is filled.
Location is the other major decision. Many retiring executives downsize or relocate, and the housing market they choose affects how far their savings stretch. For those who favor the upper Midwest, the best places to retire in the Midwest pair affordable housing with lakes, forests, and college towns.
Financial Decisions to Settle Before the Exit Date
- Confirm the value and payout schedule of deferred compensation and pension benefits
- Line up health coverage for the gap between the employer plan and Medicare eligibility
- Review the terms of board and advisory roles, including compensation and liability coverage
- Decide whether to sell, hold, or transfer company equity under the ownership agreement
Comparing Retirement Destinations by Climate and Cost
Region-by-region comparisons turn an emotional decision into a numbers problem. Retirees weigh cost of living, property taxes, health care access, and recreation. Mountain states draw executives who want outdoor activity year-round, while the Great Lakes region appeals to those who value water access and four distinct seasons. Retirees considering the Rockies can review where to retire in Colorado, where mountain towns rank highly for recreation but carry premium housing costs.
The same comparison works for any region a retiring executive is considering. The table below summarizes the cost and lifestyle profile of three common retirement markets.
Cost and Lifestyle Benchmarks by Region
| Region | Cost of living | Housing price range | Climate | Recreation profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest | Low to moderate | Entry level to midrange | Four seasons with cold winters | Lakes, forests, college towns |
| Mountain West (Colorado) | High in resort towns | Premium in mountain towns | Dry and sunny with heavy snow at altitude | Skiing, hiking, year-round outdoor sport |
| Great Lakes (Wisconsin) | Low | Entry level to midrange | Four seasons with lake-effect snow | Boating, fishing, state parks |
Housing Options for the Next Stage of Life
The house itself deserves the same scrutiny as the location. Retiring executives often right-size from a family home to a single-level plan with a maintenance-light exterior, and builders in retirement markets are responding with age-friendly designs: wider doorways, no-step entries, and durable materials. Buyers can compare where to retire in Wisconsin against property taxes, seasonal recreation, and the availability of single-level housing near medical centers.
For the building industry, retirement housing is a growing product line. Aging homeowners remodel rather than move, and the demand for accessible, efficient, low-maintenance homes keeps contractors busy in markets with strong retiree populations.
What Retiring Executives Look for in a Home
- Single-level living with no-step entries and wide interior doors
- Low-maintenance exteriors such as fiber cement, metal roofing, and composite decking
- Proximity to medical care, airports, and social amenities
- Energy efficiency that keeps fixed costs predictable on a fixed income