Longboat Key Roofing has completed an ownership transition effective June 30, with James Peel assuming the roles of President and CEO. The transition also begins a longer-term succession approach intended to create an ownership path for production leaders within the company.
Lucas Lewis, the company’s license holder and a production leader, already holds an ownership stake. Peel said Lewis represents the first step in a transition he had originally expected to make several years ago but delayed until the company had the right production leadership in place.
Peel said the ownership change had been contemplated as far back as 2019 or 2020. His original expectation was to complete the licensing requirements himself and move forward independently. Over time, however, he concluded that the company’s future leadership should include someone whose primary expertise came from the production side of roofing.
“I’ve always wanted to have someone as a partner who intrinsically knows the production side the way I know the human side, the communication part, the estimating part and the things that I’m really good at,” Peel said.
He described that production role as requiring daily involvement with job sites, crews, inspections, installation details and changing field conditions. Peel said developing leaders with that experience allows responsibility for field operations to remain with people who understand the work firsthand.
Lewis became central to that plan after obtaining his license and taking on a larger role in field operations. Peel described Lewis as “the start of that ownership.” The company is also developing other field leaders, including supervisor Ivan, who works under Lewis and is learning the production operation from the ground up. No additional ownership commitments or timelines have been announced.
The longer-term goal, Peel said, is to give people who help operate and build the company an opportunity to benefit from its future. Because he does not have a family successor waiting to inherit the business, internal leadership development has become an important part of how he approaches continuity.
“I want them to have something to show for all the hard work that they did,” Peel said. “They aren’t just employees. They built this with me, and ultimately they’re building something for themselves.”
The transition comes during an active period for mergers and acquisitions in the roofing industry. KPMG’s 2025 Roofing Contracting M&A Market Update reported continued interest from private-equity firms seeking initial investments in roofing companies, while established roofing platforms were also pursuing add-on acquisitions.
Peel said the company’s succession direction is not a criticism of those transactions. Rather, he views internal ownership development as the model that best fits the company he is building, with an emphasis on preserving its name, established relationships and operating knowledge while giving experienced people within the organization an opportunity to assume greater responsibility.
The June 30 transaction formalizes the next stage of that process. Peel now leads the company as President and CEO, while Lewis’s ownership stake gives production leadership a direct place in the ownership structure. Peel said future changes will depend on how the company and its people develop rather than on a predetermined timetable.
Longboat Key Roofing is a Florida roofing contractor serving residential and commercial properties in Sarasota and surrounding Gulf Coast communities. The company provides roof repair, replacement and installation services across multiple roofing systems. Additional information about the company’s leadership is available on its website.
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For more information about Longboat Key Roofing, contact the company here:
Longboat Key Roofing
James Peel
941-706-4170
admin@longboatkeyroofing.net
1125 Central Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236