About the Episode

Building What Lasts: Jon Meyer on Leadership, Succession & the Board at Nolan Painting

Thirty years ago, Jon Meyer was driving around the Philadelphia suburbs selling paint. One of his customers was a growing painting contractor named Kevin Nolan. Today, he’s leading that company forward, and his story is one of the most grounded, practical examples of what long-term succession planning actually looks like in practice.

Jon joined Nolan Painting in January of 1997 as the company’s very first estimator. Kevin offered him the job with a Friday deadline and a signing bonus. Jon took it. What followed was three decades of growth.  They grew from a $1M company with a legal pad and a beeper as sales tools, to an $18.5M business with a team of 120 in the field, eight salespeople, and a newly formed Board of Directors.

From Salesperson to CEO: A 30-Year Journey

Jon spent the bulk of his career at Nolan Painting in sales and by his own admission, he never expected to end up anywhere else.

“I’m a salesperson. I grew up in sales. I always wanted to be in sales. I was in sales before I came here, and I figured I’d be doing sales the rest of my life.”

As the company grew, so did Jon’s role. He eventually became VP of Sales, still selling and still carrying a quota, while also taking on more of the management and hiring responsibilities that came with building out the team. It was a gradual expansion of scope that, in hindsight, was laying the groundwork for what was coming.

What Jon didn’t know at the time was that Kevin Nolan had already started thinking about succession.

The Long Runway: How Kevin Built the Transition

Kevin Nolan retired on his 65th birthday, two years ago, but the planning started long before that.

“The succession planning is very, very open. It was probably nine, eight years before Kevin actually retired… very verbal about it.”

About three years before Kevin’s retirement date, Jon was promoted to President, while still maintaining his VP of Sales role. He began sitting in on committees he’d never been part of before: HR, safety, operations. He watched how Kevin ran meetings. He started developing a voice in rooms where Kevin had always been the authority.

“Two years out, he started backing out of some of the committees, and then I was able to then start, as president, start having somewhat of a voice in some of those committees.”

The final year, Kevin was intentional about stepping back, still holding the CEO title, but no longer the presence in the room. It was a deliberate transfer of gravity.

For Jon, the long runway mattered enormously. “Without a strong team,” he reflected, “I don’t know that I could have done it.”

He also inherited a company in strong financial shape and he’s clear that this made the difference. “I was set up to succeed,” he said. “There are people that are going through that where their financials maybe aren’t in order or they don’t have an accountable management team that are handling details. It’d be a different story.”

What Year One Actually Looked Like

Jon’s tenure as CEO hasn’t been without pressure. This past winter, while attending a captive insurance conference with CFO Steve Franowitz, a snowstorm hit the Philadelphia area and the phones went quiet. With roughly $300,000 in February revenue at risk, Jon made a decision he’s talked about many times since.

“Luckily, I had the wherewithal to just go, I can’t wait till Monday,” he said. He got on the phone that Friday night, looped in Jim Falk in sales, and the team spent the weekend building a plan to mobilize.

They nearly pulled the month out, missing revenue, but only just. And what stayed with Jon wasn’t the near-miss. It was what the response revealed about the team.

“That’s an awakening moment for me personally of urgency and accountability and some success with it.”

The shift from sales leader to CEO has also changed how Jon thinks day to day. In sales, the work is immediate; you’re reacting, responding, closing. In the CEO seat, the lens is wider.

“In my role, I think it’s just a little more global. I’m looking ahead, what’s around the corner that we have to be ready for, whether it’s growth obstacles or other challenges.”

Building a Board: The Next Layer of Structure

One of the most significant developments at Nolan Painting this year has been the formation of its Board of Directors, a process that was years in the making and directly tied to Kevin’s succession plan.

The work began through a company called Compass Point, which Kevin engaged to help facilitate the process. Before the board was even formed, Compass Point helped the Nolan family build a family constitution, a written document outlining how the family communicates with each other both personally and in their roles as officers, managers, and directors of the business.

“That was put together in writing prior to building the board of directors,” Jon explained.

From there, the team built a prospectus defining the board’s purpose, structure, and the skills they were looking for in outside directors. They wrote job descriptions. They went to their networks. And they landed on two external board members: Megan, recently promoted to president of an HR firm, and Erin, who comes from a large engineering firm with a marketing and strategic planning background.

The full board consists of Kevin as chairman, two family members (Kevin C. and Colleen), Jon as CEO, CFO Steve Nafranowitz, and the two outside directors, meeting quarterly.

Jon walked into the first meeting not entirely sure what to expect. He walked out with a clear sense of what the board was going to mean for him personally.

“I don’t have bosses, I have a really amazing support system here.”

Key Takeaways

• • Create a Phased Runway for Handoffs: Don’t rush leadership transitions. Give incoming executives a multi-year window to shadow committees, establish their voices, and take full ownership of decisions before the predecessor officially steps away.

• • Establish External Governance: Look outside your immediate organization. Draft a clear framework and job descriptions, then recruit board members from larger companies who bring specific expertise in HR, marketing, or finance.

• • Act Early on Negative Trends: Monitor your operational data consistently. If your average job size shrinks or lead flow drops, respond with urgency rather than waiting for the next monthly review.

• • Set Your Own Exit Date: Jon set his retirement target: 2034, age 65, the moment he stepped into the CEO role, taking direct inspiration from Kevin’s example. A defined date creates accountability and gives you a concrete horizon to build toward.

What the Legacy Looks Like

When asked about the stamp he wants to leave on Nolan Painting, Jon was direct. Revenue growth, the goal of doubling the business to $32M is part of the plan, but it’s not the headline.

“When in 2034, that’s when we can look back… where the company is just as strong when I took it over as it I’m leaving. We’re so much bigger, but we’ll have a leadership, a management in place that’s just as strong as when I got it. And then it’s prepared for the next generation to come through.”

That’s what he’s building toward. Not just a bigger company, a stronger one. One that’s ready for whoever comes next, the same way Kevin made it ready for him.

For any trades business owner thinking about their own exit, or the leadership structure they’re leaving behind, Jon’s story is a clear example of what the long game looks like and why it’s worth playing.