The home service franchise company has more than 1,000 owners.
By Andrew Carlo
Authority Brands, with a deep portfolio of home service franchise brands, announced that it has named a new chief executive officer.
Jay Caiafa has been appointed as CEO. He replaces Craig Donaldson who has served as CEO for the past three years while also serving on the board of directors for seven years. Authority Brands said that Donaldson had decided to step down from his top executive position.
The new CEO will officially join Authority Brands on Aug. 18 with Donaldson remaining for a short transition period, Authority Brands said.
Caiafa most recently served as chief operating officer for the Americas at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). His responsibilities included 4,600 hotels in 26 countries, representing the majority of the group’s global revenue and profit. According to Authority Brands, during Caiafa’s tenure at IHG, he helped deliver record growth, drove innovation through data and AI.
“I am delighted that a talented executive of Jay’s caliber is succeeding me as CEO of Authority Brands,” Donaldson said. “He brings deep operational expertise, a strong commercial instinct and a proven ability to lead at scale, and I look forward to watching what the business does under his leadership.”
Based in Columbia, Maryland, Authority Brands’ companies include America’s Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, DoodyCalls, DRYmedic Restoration Services, Homewatch CareGivers, The Junkluggers, Lawn Squad, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Screenmobile, and Woofie’s.
Collectively, the Authority Brands collection of businesses include more than 2,000 territories operated by more than 1,000 franchise owners.
“Authority Brands has demonstrated impressive growth in recent years, posting record numbers in 2024 and adding 210 new franchise owners to the ranks of its 15 outstanding home-services brands,” Caiafa said. “With systemwide sales over $2 billion, I am thrilled to be joining Authority Brands at such an exciting time for the business. I look forward to working with the team, franchisees and our partners to build on these strong foundations to unlock future growth.”
Ashish Karandikar, partner at Apax Partners and a member of the company’s board of directors, added, “Jay is a seasoned operator with a track record of leading scaled businesses. His background gives him a rare breadth of perspective, and his experience at IHG makes him well placed to lead Authority Brands through its next phase of growth. We are grateful to Craig for his leadership of the business and wish him all the best for the future.”
Apax Partners purchased The Cleaning Partners in 2017 and followed up the move with the acquisition of HomeWatch Caregivers. Since, the company has expanded the Authority Brands collection of businesses through a steady stream of acquisitions and franchising.
Information about Authority Brands’ and franchise opportunities can be found at authoritybrands.com/franchising.
