Drywall and plaster chief executive officer job description
A drywall and plaster chief executive officer chooses which builder master agreements the company signs, which distributors supply its board, and whether it signs a union agreement. They also decide whether plaster work stays, grows or winds down.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $69,930, middle half $100,570 to $283,340, 90th percentile $386,670. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, specialty trade contractors.
Reports to
Owners or board
Department
Executive
Schedule
Weekdays 8 to 6, frequent travel · Weekdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., some evening or weekend events, frequent trips to clients and trade shows, occasional on-call
Also called
President · President and CEO · Owner and president · Drywall company president
Drywall and plaster chief executive officer job description template
This is our Role Blueprint, word for word. Replace the highlighted fields and adjust the example targets and pay to fit your company.
The CEO will drive the overall vision and strategic direction of our drywall and plaster company while delivering exceptional operational results. This role is pivotal in acquiring large contracts, growing market share, and ensuring sustainable profitability. The ideal candidate is a visionary leader with deep industry knowledge and a commitment to operational excellence.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute the company's strategic plan to achieve short-term and long-term business objectives.
Secure and manage major contracts to enhance revenue streams and market presence.
Oversee all financial and operational activities to ensure profitability and efficient resource allocation.
Represent the company at industry events, networking opportunities, and high-level negotiations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor industry trends and adjust strategies to remain competitive in the drywall and plaster market.
Engage with key stakeholders including clients, employees, and board members to foster transparent communication.
Review financial reports and performance metrics daily to ensure the company meets its targets.
Lead high-level meetings to ensure alignment across departments and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth: Achieve a minimum annual growth rate of 15%.
Contract Acquisition: Secure at least 3 major new contracts per fiscal year.
Profitability Margin: Maintain a gross margin of over 40%.
Customer Satisfaction: Attain a customer rating of at least 4.8 stars.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Construction Management, or a related field; MBA preferred.
A minimum of 10 years of executive leadership experience with demonstrated success in business transformation.
Strong strategic planning, contract negotiation, and financial management skills.
Excellent communication, leadership, and decision-making abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the construction, drywall, or plaster industries.
Proven history of successfully scaling a business within a competitive market.
Prior exposure to managing large-scale projects and complex contracts.
Industry-specific certifications or memberships in professional construction organizations.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally visit worksites, requiring walking and light physical inspections.
Capable of sitting or standing for extended periods during meetings and presentations.
Comfortable working in diverse environments including construction sites and corporate offices.
Minimal lifting required; primary focus is on strategic oversight and business management.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Occasional evening or weekend events and meetings may be required.
Frequent travel to client locations, conferences, and industry trade shows is expected.
May require occasional on-call duties for high-priority events or emergencies.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range: $150,000 - $250,000 USD, commensurate with experience and performance.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses and incentives.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
Participation in a 401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off, professional development opportunities, and more.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a dynamic and forward-thinking company that champions innovation and excellence in the drywall and plaster industry.
Our culture emphasizes transparency, teamwork, and continuous growth, both for our employees and our business.
We value the ideas and contributions of every member of our team and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
Join us in a journey where your leadership not only shapes the company but also drives industry advancements.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A drywall company often depends on a few builders and general contractors for its work, and on a handful of large distributors for its board. That puts contracts, suppliers and labor agreements on the CEO's desk.
Two big board distributors changed owners
In September 2025, Home Depot's SRS unit finished buying GMS, a distributor of drywall, ceilings and steel framing. A month later, Lowe's closed its deal for Foundation Building Materials, which sells the same lines. A new owner may change credit terms or delivery rules. Know who owns each yard the company buys from. Reread the credit terms after a sale, and keep a second supplier who can deliver board. Source: The Home Depot: SRS completes acquisition of GMS (September 4, 2025).
A union agreement is hard to undo
Before signing, find out how much of your market's commercial work goes only to union subs, and whether you want it. The painters and allied trades union lists drywall finishers among its trades. If the agreement adds a multiemployer pension fund, quitting it later can bring withdrawal liability. For plans that mostly cover building trades, federal law counts a contractor as fully withdrawn only if it keeps doing that type of work in the agreement's area, or returns to it within five years without signing back on. Source: 29 U.S.C. 1383: withdrawal in the building and construction industry (Cornell LII).
Builder master agreements set the risk
A production builder may ask the drywall sub to sign one master agreement that covers every house the sub works on for that builder. Its terms on indemnity, insurance, warranty and back-charges then apply to all those houses, and they're hard to change later. The CEO decides which terms the company won't accept. An attorney and the insurance broker read each new one, and only a few people may sign.
Plaster is a small business inside the company
Veneer and three-coat plaster jobs come in less often and take longer than board. The know-how often sits with one or two senior people. The CEO decides if plaster stays, grows into old-house and high-end remodel work, or ends when those people retire. Keeping it means paying an apprentice to learn beside them now, long before the plaster crew needs new hands.
How much drywall and plaster chief executive officers make
The closest BLS group for drywall and plaster chief executive officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for specialty trade contractors earned a median of $169,170 a year ($81.33 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 3,830 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for specialty trade contractors.
Salary, performance bonuses and incentives make up the template's offer. For CEOs at specialty trade firms, the BLS median falls inside the template's range. Put in writing which results earn the bonus, such as gross margin after warranty costs, and when it pays out.
Specialty trade contractors
$169,170$169,170 median Middle half $100,570–$283,340 10th–90th $69,930–$386,670
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Specialty trade contractors
$69,930
$100,570
$169,170
$283,340
$386,670
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for chief executives at drywall and insulation contractors on their own, so these figures cover specialty trade contractors. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has run a construction subcontractor that works for builders or general contractors
Reads a builder master agreement and spots the indemnity and back-charge terms that matter
Negotiates supply terms with board distributors and keeps a second source ready
Understands union agreements and pension obligations before signing one
Judges a drywall bid by its labor hours per sheet, not only its total
Teach these on the job
Your builders, their communities and their superintendents
Your supplier price letters and credit terms
Your estimating and takeoff software
The plaster and veneer systems the company still sells
The builders the company has turned down, and why
Expect the CEO to work from a short stack of documents: each builder's master agreement and price sheet, supplier price letters, the insurance and bonding schedule, any union agreements, and the CFO's monthly report. Estimators run the takeoff software, but a strong candidate can read a takeoff and question it.
Drywall and plaster chief executive officer interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Taking on large packages
A general contractor offers a large multifamily drywall package with a tight schedule and liquidated damages. How do you decide?
A strong answer: Checks hanging and finishing capacity, the damages exposure, payment terms and retainage, stocking logistics, and what it would pull from current customers.
Behavioral · Scaling past the owner
Tell me about a time you grew a company past the point where you could check every job yourself.
A strong answer: Names the leaders they added, such as a production manager and field supervisors, the systems, such as written finish standards and work-light checks before paint, and how callbacks held as they grew.
Before you share the template's targets with a new CEO, check them against the builder communities and multifamily jobs already signed for next year.
Revenue Growth
Set this year's billed revenue against last year's, month by month, split into production builders, multifamily and commercial, and remodel and repair work, so one builder slowing down doesn't hide gains elsewhere.
Contract Acquisition
Count new builder communities, multifamily buildings and commercial packages above a size the owners set, and track how each one's first year of margin compared with its bid.
Profitability Margin
Gross margin on the monthly profit and loss, after board, compound, field labor and payroll taxes, with warranty and repair visits charged to the jobs that caused them.
Customer Satisfaction
For builders, use the trade scorecards some keep on schedule, quality and cleanup, plus whether the builder asks you to price its next phase. For homeowners, use review ratings on remodel and repair jobs.
Career path
Sales managerWins builder and general contractor accounts and sets bid prices.
General managerLearns to turn a branch's builder work into steady margin.
Chief executive officerChooses customers, suppliers and labor agreements for the whole company.
Owner or board memberTakes a board seat or a share of the company as the founders step back.
Should a drywall contractor add metal stud framing and ceilings?
It can win bigger interior jobs from general contractors who want one sub for framing, board and ceilings. It also adds risk. Board crews inherit any layout mistakes, there are more submittals and new tools, and you'll need to confirm your license covers framing. Start with one skilled framing lead and a few jobs. Track their margin apart from board work, and grow only if both hold up.
How much does a drywall and plaster chief executive officer make?
Chief executives who work for specialty trade contractors earned a median of $169,170 a year ($81.33 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $100,570 and $283,340 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Does a drywall CEO need hands-on trade experience?
The template lists construction, drywall or plaster work as preferred, not required. The CEO needs enough trade sense to judge a bid. That means knowing what a high finish level or a fire-rated wall adds to labor, and when a builder's price leaves nothing for warranty visits. An outsider to the trade needs a production manager and an estimator they trust from week one.
How does a drywall company win a new production builder?
By proving it can staff a community before asking for all of it. Bring crew counts, a reference from another builder's superintendent and prices by house plan. The CEO and sales manager often start with a few houses or one phase, deliver on dates and cleanup, then ask for the next phase. Don't take a whole community at a price the crews can't reach.
The template mentions sitting or standing through long meetings. How should an ad put that?
Name the tasks: leading meetings with owners and lenders, speaking at builder reviews and trade shows, and walking job sites now and then. Some of those sites are still being built. That template line stays as it is. The rest of the ad names those tasks and offers reasonable accommodation.
