Third-generation leader John Scalo becomes President as one of the largest and most respected family-owned companies enters a new era.
PITTSBURGH — Every company has a history; few have hallways that tell it. Walk through the Burns & Scalo Roofing headquarters, and you’ll notice something unusual. The walls are lined with the faces of teammates who have dedicated 15 years or more to the company. Many have spent decades there. Collectively, they tell the story of a business that measures success by the people who helped build the company itself.
Those walls tell another story, too.
A young boy who once swept warehouse floors, stocked materials, and learned the value of hard work from his father, his grandfather, and seasoned craftsmen has grown into the company’s next leader.
Today, as Burns & Scalo Roofing celebrates its 70th anniversary, that same young boy is taking the helm.
Seventy years ago, his grandfather founded the company, his father grew it, and today the grandson is focused on taking it to the next level.
John Scalo has been named President of Burns & Scalo Roofing, succeeding his father, Jack Scalo, who is transitioning to the role of CEO. Jack will remain involved in the company, continuing to build strategic relationships and provide strategic leadership and guidance as John assumes the day to day responsibilities of leading and growing the business.
John is becoming the third generation to lead the privately held company founded in 1956 by his grandfather, John T. Scalo, and partner Duke Burns. Seventy years ago, Burns & Scalo Roofing was two people with an idea. Today, that idea has grown into a company with approximately 350 teammates and counting supporting over 1000 family members.
In today’s business climate, that’s increasingly rare.
Across America, thousands of family-owned companies are confronting the same question: What happens when the next generation takes over? Some are sold. Others relocate. Many lose the culture and values that made them successful in the first place.
Burns & Scalo Roofing chose another path.
For more than 70 years, the company has stayed family-owned and grown from a neighborhood residential roofing contractor into one of the leading commercial roofing, exterior metal wall cladding and solar enterprises.
Under Jack Scalo’s leadership, Burns & Scalo Roofing expanded beyond its Pittsburgh roots, establishing itself across the mid-Atlantic with a permanent Ohio operation in 2000. Today, the company is a trusted partner on major commercial industrials throughout the United States, contributing to manufacturing facilities, hospitals, airports, data centers, and countless other mission critical commercial and industrial facilities.
“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to build more than roofs—we’ve built relationships throughout Pittsburgh, Columbus, and the communities we serve,” said Jack Scalo. “This transition isn’t about changing who we are. It’s about protecting what generations of teammates have worked so hard to build. We have always believed that relationships come before transactions. Everyone needs shelter—it’s one of life’s most basic needs—and serving that need carries a tremendous responsibility.”
For John Scalo, becoming President isn’t the beginning of his Burns & Scalo Roofing story.
It’s simply the next chapter.
Long before he attended leadership meetings, he learned the business from the warehouse floor. He swept floors, organized inventory, loaded materials, and watched experienced crews take pride in doing every job the right way. Those lessons shaped his belief that no title is more important than earning the respect of the people beside you.
“I never felt like I was being prepared to run the company,” said John Scalo. “I felt like I was being taught how to respect the people who make this company successful. That’s the culture my father and grandfather created, and it’s the culture we’re committed to preserving.
“This business has always been about legacy. Not just our family’s legacy, but the legacy of every teammate who has dedicated their career to Burns & Scalo Roofing and every customer who has trusted us with their projects.”
That philosophy continues to distinguish Burns & Scalo Roofing today.
The company practices Open Book Management, giving teammates a clear understanding of how the business performs and empowering them to think like owners rather than simply workers.
Inside Burns & Scalo Roofing, there is another saying that reflects its culture:
“We are in the people business first and the roofing, sheet metal and solar business second.”
It’s a reminder that the company’s reputation has never been built on spreadsheets alone, but on craftsmanship, integrity, and doing right by customers.
Over the last 70 years, Burns & Scalo Roofing has become part of the fabric of the communities they serve.
There is a good chance that you’ve passed a building touched by Burns & Scalo Roofing. For Jack Scalo, however, the buildings represent something even larger.
“I’m proud of every roof we’ve installed,” he said. “But I’m even prouder of the people who’ve chosen to spend their careers here. We have several multi-generational family members working here. That’s the legacy we are also celebrating.”
As Burns & Scalo Roofing plans for the next 30 years and beyond, the leadership transition represents more than a new president.
It reflects a promise—that a company built on trust, transparency, craftsmanship and family values will remain privately held, deeply rooted in Pittsburgh and committed to serving generations of customers and employees for decades to come.
Years from now, another photograph will likely find its place on the walls of Burns & Scalo Roofing’s headquarters. It won’t simply commemorate another president. It will mark another chapter in a story that began 70 years ago—with a family, a belief in hard work and a commitment to building something that would last far beyond any single roof.
For Burns & Scalo Roofing, that has always been the true foundation.
Contact:
Saul Markowitz
Saul@MarkowitzCommunications.com | 412.977.8517
