Paul Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors, on Friday assumed the position of CEO of The Marvin Companies, becoming the fourth CEO in the family-owned and operated company’s 100+ year history.
Paul Marvin is the first of the fourth generation within the Marvin family to hold the top post at The Marvin Companies. He was named president of Marvin Windows and Doors on Jan. 1, 2016, after serving as vice president of sales, along with other roles within the company.
“I’m energized and inspired by this new opportunity to serve the company. Our purpose is to enrich the spaces where we live and work, and our future is to deliver on that purpose in new ways,” said Paul Marvin. “To do so, we will continue to lead as my great grandfather, grandfather, father, uncles and aunt did: by keeping our customers, employees and communities at the center of our work.”
Paul Marvin’s expanded position is the culmination of a five-year transitional plan approved and overseen by current CEO John W. “Jake” Marvin and The Marvin Companies board of directors. As part of the plan, it was also announced that Jake Marvin, board chairman and a 43-year veteran of the company, will step down to become vice chairman; Susan Marvin, current vice chairman, will take on the role of chairman and will leverage her 35 years of experience at Marvin, including more than 20 years as president, to preside over The Marvin Companies board of directors; and George Marvin, another third-generation family leader, will continue his 45-year tenure with the company as vice chairman of the board.
“Paul has demonstrated extraordinary leadership abilities at Marvin. In the short time since he became president, he has identified new ways of delivering value in a fast-paced market while staying true to our purpose,” said Jake Marvin. “He is positioning The Marvin Companies not only for today, but also for the future — with an unwavering commitment to innovation and fulfilling our family’s promise to provide exceptional products and service to our customers and to support the communities in which we live.”
Over the course of four decades, Jake Marvin served in a variety of leadership positions for the company, including vice president of manufacturing and operations, CFO, COO and president. For the past 17 years he has served as CEO and chairman of the board of the Marvin Lumber and Cedar Company, and since 2007, was chair of the board of The Marvin Companies.
Paul Marvin’s appointment as CEO coincides with what would have been the 100th birthday of William S. “Bill” Marvin, who spurred the transformation of a hometown lumber and cedar company in Warroad, Minn. into what we now know as Marvin Windows and Doors, which now employs more than 5,200 people across 10 U.S. cities but remains based in Warroad.
“In business, as in life, these generational changes are inevitable. Just as my siblings and I stepped in for our father, so is the next generation stepping in for us,” said Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors. “Marvin has prospered for generations by upholding deeply ingrained values of quality, innovation and service to all our business and community stakeholders. Paul, and the rest of the fourth generation have spent a lifetime absorbing those values, and are committed to keeping the company family-owned and family-led well into the future. I’m excited to see what this company will accomplish under their leadership in the years to come.”
“There are so few U.S. companies that make it to the fourth generation of family leadership — less than 3 percent, in fact — that it is an honor to carry on the family’s legacy. More than 100 years later, we are well positioned as we celebrate the successes of the third generation, advance the leadership of the fourth and engage the talents of fifth,” concluded Paul Marvin.
