Experienced, Visionary Operator to Drive Continued Innovation and Growth, Position Company as One-Stop Home Improvement Platform
HUDSON, Ohio, November 16, 2021 — Leaf Home™ (“Leaf Home” or the “Company”), a leading technology-enabled provider of home solutions, today announced that it has appointed Jeffrey Housenbold as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Housenbold joins a talented leadership team who will continue to support Leaf Home’s growth.
Mr. Housenbold brings nearly three decades of hyper-growth and brand-building expertise and experience leading, operating, and investing in rapidly growing tech-enabled consumer and enterprise businesses. Most recently, Mr. Housenbold founded and served as Managing Partner of Honor Ventures, a mid-stage growth equity fund that invests in transformational consumer technology companies. Previously, Mr. Housenbold was a Founding Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, where he assisted in managing over $130 billion in assets across SoftBank’s Vision Funds. Mr. Housenbold was also an executive sponsor of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Efforts and served on the investment committee for the Emerge Fund, investing in women and underrepresented minority founders.
Prior to Softbank, from 2005 to 2016, Mr. Housenbold served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Shutterfly, where he grew the company’s global consumer base, diversified revenue streams and developed innovative technology platforms including more than 2,500 new products used by hundreds of millions of customers across seven different brands. Mr. Housenbold took the company public in 2006, grew revenue and enterprise value more than twentyfold and successfully acquired 17 companies over the next 11 years, transforming Shutterfly into the fifth largest stand-alone e-commerce company in the United States. Throughout his career, he has advised and served on more than 35 public and private boards, including DoorDash, Shutterfly, Caesars, Groupon, OpenDoor, Chegg, Grab, Compass, Rappi, Plenty, Upside Foods, Tempo, and Canada Drives.
Leaf Home today has over 2,200 employees across 152 offices in the U.S. and Canada, and has served more than one million customers in total across its four brands: LeafFilter® Gutter Protection, Leaf Home Safety Solutions™, Leaf Home Water Solutions™, and Leaf Home Enhancements™. In the last 18 months alone, the Company has expanded its footprint with 53 new offices in key markets such as Denver, Kansas City, Atlanta, and Cincinnati, among others. Leaf Home is backed by Gridiron Capital, an investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, that acquired the business in 2016.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jeff as the new CEO of Leaf Home. The Company has continued to scale its infrastructure and enhance the suite of solutions it provides to customers across the country, and I am confident the vision, strategy, and value creation experience Jeff brings will turbocharge Leaf Home’s momentum,” said Tom Burger, Chairman of Leaf Home and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Gridiron Capital. “I look forward to working closely with him to establish Leaf Home as the solutions provider of choice for home improvement needs across the country, while positioning the Company for its next phase of continued success and long-term sustainable growth.”
“Leaf Home is a one-of-a-kind home solutions platform, and as individuals today are utilizing their homes in different ways and staying put longer in an aging and underinvested housing market, the need for ongoing home improvements will continue to grow,” said Mr. Housenbold. “Having a tech-enabled solutions provider that homeowners can trust for all of their needs allows for true peace of mind and enhanced home value. There are incredible opportunities to grow the business and expand the industry-leading services and products we provide to create a truly one-stop home improvement offering for customers nationwide. I look forward to working closely with Tom and the entire management team to execute on our shared vision and have an instant impact for our customers and employees.”
About Leaf Home
Leaf Home™ is a leading technology-enabled provider of home solutions on a mission to transform home hassles into personal peace of mind. Leaf Home’s experienced, dependable specialists provide end-to-end services directly to consumers through its core brands; LeafFilter® Gutter Protection, Leaf Home Safety Solutions™, Leaf Home Water Solutions™, and Leaf Home Enhancements™. With its corporate headquarters in Hudson, Ohio, Leaf Home delivers seamless, transformative home solutions for safer, easier, and more comfortable living every day. Live Comfortable. Live Safe. Live Happy. For more information, visit www.leafhome.com.
About Gridiron Capital, LLC
Gridiron Capital is an investment firm focused on partnering with founders, entrepreneurs, and management teams, and creating value by building middle-market companies into industry leaders in branded consumer, B2B and B2C services, and niche industrial segments in the United States and Canada. We help transform growing companies by winning together through hard work, partnerships grounded in shared values, and a unique culture that comes from hands-on experience building and running businesses. As a team led by former operators and entrepreneurs, we know what it takes to run successful businesses on a day-to-day basis. Additional information is available on the firm’s website: www.gridironcapital.com.
Contacts
Media
Leaf Home:
Gridiron Capital Media Contact:
Joele Frank / Jon Keehner / Erik Carlson
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449
