With an eye toward future growth, Fischer Homes recently realigned its leadership structure to provide greater capacity and consistency across its 11 operating markets. As part of the changes, Jason Finch was named president as part of the separation of the president and chief operating officer roles. Jay Smith will continue in the role of COO for the Erlanger, Kentucky-based company.
“It reflects both where we are today and where we want to go,” Finch tells BUILDER. “As Fischer Homes has grown, so has the complexity of our business. We’re being thoughtful about putting the leadership structure in place to support our current teams while preparing for future expansion.”
The organization said separating the president and COO roles provides greater leadership capacity for Finch and Smith while allowing both to dedicate attention to Fischer Homes’ long-term growth strategy.
“As we grow, we want to maintain consistent operations, develop strong local teams, and deliver the quality and customer experience people expect from Fischer Homes,” Finch explains. “This structure gives us greater capacity to pursue new opportunities while continuing to strengthen our existing markets.”
In the role of president, Finch will oversee the execution of the company’s home building strategy across its growing footprint. He joined the company in 2013 and most recently served as the region president for Fischer Homes’ South region.
“I have learned that high standards, clear expectations, and consistent follow-through are the foundation of strong performance,” Finch says of the lessons he has learned in his tenure with Fischer Homes. “Disciplined execution ultimately shapes the customer experience. I also believe leaders create lasting results by developing people, holding teams accountable, and giving them the tools and support they need to deliver an exceptional customer experience.”
Finch’s immediate goals in the role of president include strengthening internal operations and shared services for the company while also improving alignment across the organization’s divisions. Alignment, Finch explains, means Fischer Homes divisions are working from the same high standards and measuring performance against clear expectations.
“In practice, it requires stronger cross-functional collaboration, faster problem-solving, and leaders who take ownership from plan through execution,” Finch says. “I will also focus on developing our leaders and ensuring that our operating standards are clear, measurable, and consistently executed across divisions.”
Fischer Homes anticipates growth will come from both organic expansion within its existing footprint and the continued development of newer markets. Finch sees Fischer Homes’ Gulf Coast East, Raleigh, and Lexington, Kentucky, markets as areas with significant runway for expansion.
The builder also sees opportunities to build momentum in established markets, including Columbus, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Louisville. According to Zonda’s Local Leaders data, Fischer Homes is the fourth largest builder in Columbus, with a 9.2% market share and the seventh largest builder in Indianapolis with a 3.3% market share.
“Our focus is not simply on increasing volume,” Finch says. “It is on pursuing profitable, sustainable growth supported by strong leaders, disciplined execution, and an operating model that can scale.”
When evaluating where and how to expand, Finch says Fischer Homes will analyze customer demand, its land positions, leadership capacity, operating capabilities, market performance, and financial results.
“We will prioritize markets where demand, land position, leadership capacity, and operating capabilities give us a durable advantage,” Finch says. “This allows us to pursue profitable growth while maintaining the customer experience and standards that define Fischer Homes.”
This approach reflects lessons the builder has learned from the past several years. Rather than treating growth as a goal independent of operations, Fischer Homes plans to pair its market insights with the systems and leadership needed to support expansion.
“The last few years have reinforced that profitable growth starts with data-driven decisions,” Finch says. “We then pair that insight with strong systems, capable leaders, and disciplined execution, so performance, quality, customer experience, and accountability remain strong as the organization expands.”
As the company expands, culture will remain an important consideration to maintain, Finch says.
“Culture is maintained when our values are translated into everyday expectations, leadership behaviors, and accountability, not simply stated in communications,” he adds. “We will protect it by setting high standards, developing leaders who model those standards, recognizing strong performance, and addressing gaps directly and respectfully.”
