Posted on March 24th, 2015 in the category: News & Information
Customers and CertainTeed Show Appreciation for Building Products Veteran Bill Eberle Upon His Retirement
Highly respected marketer demonstrated thoughtful leadership, keen customer insight throughout career
(Valley Forge, Pa.) – This March, building products veteran Bill Eberle will hang up his hat at CertainTeed for the last time. Eberle, who has worked for the company for the past 42 years with unfaltering energy, passion and industry insight, is retiring. He leaves a lasting legacy of exceptional leadership and commitment that ripples throughout the industry.
In 1973, the DePauw University graduate entered CertainTeed as a sales trainee. Eberle’s work ethic, keen understanding and good nature helped usher him through progressive appointments in sales, business development, and product and marketing management in the company’s roofing and siding groups. In 1996, he was promoted to his current role as Vice President of Marketing for CertainTeed Siding where he has successfully led the development and innovation of the broadest portfolio of siding, trim, fence, decking and railing products in the building materials industry.
“Bill is among the best marketers in the business. His intelligent approach to marketing has established CertainTeed Siding as the best in its class. In fact, Bill’s work extends beyond our company to change the way the entire industry views and sells siding,” said Pamela Schechter, president of CertainTeed Siding Products Group. “There is no doubt that Bill’s deep understanding of the overall building products market and our customers has been a guidepost for our brands and programs for years. Fortunately Bill is also the ultimate team player and has built a stellar marketing group that will undoubtedly carry his ideals forward. We will dearly miss him and wish him all the best in his retirement.”
Chuck Campbell, executive director of American Wholesale of Malvern, Pennsylvania, has worked closely with Eberle as both peer and customer and believes marketers like Eberle are hard to find.
“Marketing is one of these things that’s a science, but also very much an art. Bill is exceptional. He has this incredible gift of insight and instinctively knows what programs will work effectively with his customers,” Campbell said.
Under Eberle’s leadership, CertainTeed Vinyl Siding has been ranked the number one brand by building professionals for 18 consecutive years. He, and the team he built, are respected throughout the industry for their smart development and marketing of building materials and customer programs.
Beyond valuable programs, Campbell credits Eberle with blazing new trails in the siding industry, taking what was once considered a commodity product and differentiating it in the marketplace. He achieved this by branding product features like CertaLock™, Patented STUDFinder™, DuraLock®, Patented PanelThermometer™, RigidForm™ Technology and PermaColor™ Lifetime Fade Protection for notable siding lines such as Cedar Impressions® Polymer Shake and Shingle, CedarBoards™ Insulated Siding and the Vinyl Siding Collection. He also did this through marketing branding such as Color Leadership, Living Spaces® and Freedom of Choice®.
Julius Krisanic, owner of Wholesale Siding Depot of St. Louis, Missouri, describes Eberle’s work as second to none, noting that the customer programs developed under Eberle have been instrumental in setting Krisanic’s business apart from competitors.
“No one comes close to doing what Bill can do – not even a distant second. The programs he has guided have been phenomenal. Not only are they good for CertainTeed, but also for the customers and contractors who utilize these services. He has a true passion for his company, his customers and the end result. Plus, he’s a true gentleman,” Krisanic said.
The programs developed by Eberle and his marketing team have far-ranging benefits for customers and homeowners and are regarded as best-in-class throughout the building industry. These programs include proDialog™, the Build-it Tour™, 5-Star Contractor, 5-Star Green Contractor, Show Me The Money with No Limits, and the CertainTeed Living Spaces® Home Makeover contest. He has also been a huge proponent of the Building Solutions® cross divisional programs.
Rob Holden, president of Florence Corporation of Huntington, New York, has been a CertainTeed customer for 28 years and says he has not known CertainTeed without Eberle.
“He’s the best in the industry hands down. Bill is a huge customer advocate and has the uncanny ability to identify market needs and then communicate these ideas to people,” said Holden.
“He is extraordinary at what he does, but he’s even more of an extraordinary person,” added Campbell.
CertainTeed offers unsurpassed Freedom of Choice® through its industry-leading portfolio of roofing, long-lasting polymer, insulated and vinyl siding as well as fence, railing, decking and exterior trim. CertainTeed offers the advantage of using exterior products from a single source that are designed to mix-and-match with each other and feature authentic textures, versatile styles and rich color combinations, for a beautifully coordinated look. As the result of a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, CertainTeed is the first manufacturer to issue and publish third-party validated life cycle assessments (LCA) for its vinyl and trim product lines. For more information, visit www.certainteed.com/freedomofchoice.