MOMS IN THE C-SUITE
BY HELEN BOND
HAVING IT ALL–HER WAY
Meg Roberts blazes her own path to the top
M
olly Maid president Meg Roberts sat at her desk delivering
her monthly message to franchisees. Behind her, chaos reigned. Sons
Luke and Erik, 11 and 8, along with their
8-year-old cousin, were enjoying a holiday
break from school—and just being boys. As
Roberts coolly carried on with “A Minute
with Meg,” the boys could be seen running
around the office, swigging sodas, making
funny faces, and engaging in a friendly
Nerf gun battle. Roberts, president of the
nation’s largest home cleaning business,
thought about booting the trio out for a
retake. Then she thought better.
“My franchisees, clients, and partners
know who I am. They will either love it
or say it was unprofessional,” says Roberts.
“But they loved it. And the boys loved seeing themselves on YouTube. You would
have thought they were Brad Pitt.”
The broadcast was vintage Roberts.
Whether at work or at home, she strives
to live and lead authentically. “My children
are part of my life,” says Roberts, 41. “They
are part of my work. They are—every part
of me. It was honest me.”
But don’t let that distract from her
dedication to her role. Roberts, whose father was a Navy officer and neurosurgeon,
knows how to run a tight ship. She earned
her spot in the C-suite in 2012, after her
success with the brand’s marketing efforts
resulted in an astronomical rise in online
leads and multiple years of double-digit
sales growth. Roberts has high standards,
but practices a leadership approach she
says is “firm, friendly, and fair.”
Formative years
Roberts grew up in a large family, not far
from the Ann Arbor, Mich., headquarters
of Service Brands International, parent
of Mr. Handyman, ProTect Painters, and
Molly Maid, which currently has 260 franchisees and nearly 500 locations.
Her gift as a high-energy creative thinker
began early. In grade school, Roberts was
fascinated by the catchy jingle for Ryder
trucks and the idea that someone came
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