From timber to trust: How Jason Booth built success from the ground up

If you ask Jason Booth about woodworking, don't expect a conversation about buying lumber from a store. He starts much earlier in the process.

"I'll cut the tree down, make my own lumber, size it, do everything from start to finish," he said. Whether he's crafting a cutting board, a live-edge table or a picture frame, Booth enjoys seeing a project through from its very beginning to its finished form.

It's a hobby that says a lot about the way he approaches his work.

Today, Jason serves as Vice President of Sales for JELD-WEN's Doors business, leading teams and helping customers find solutions that meet their needs. But his career didn't begin in sales, and it certainly didn't begin in a traditional office.

Instead, it started on the plant floor.

Learning the product from the ground up

Jason's connection to the millwork industry stretches back more than three decades. He joined a small independent door manufacturer in 1995, working in an interior door plant where he laid out doors, trimmed them, loaded them and learned the business from the ground up. That company later became part of JELD-WEN, but Jason carried those early lessons with him every step of the way.

"I learned the business from the ground up," Jason said. "I understood every step of the manufacturing process and how each detail contributes to the quality customers expect."

That firsthand experience shaped a leadership style grounded in understanding rather than assumptions.

Listening first, selling second

Throughout his career, he's seen firsthand what happens when companies fail to listen. That's why he encourages his team to focus on understanding what customers need and then delivering against those expectations.

"I tell my team to find out what those needs are and start checking those boxes," Jason said. "If you listen and respond to what customers are asking for, nine times out of 10, you'll earn the business."

Building for the future

For Jason, one of the most exciting things about JELD-WEN's future is the company's growing commitment to putting customers at the center of decision-making. Combined with JELD-WEN's ability to offer interior doors, exterior doors and windows through one company, he sees significant opportunities ahead.

And while becoming a vice president wasn't something he ever expected when he started on the plant floor, Jason remains proud of the path that brought him there.

"I never really saw myself as being a VP of anything," he said.

But for someone who enjoys taking raw materials and turning them into something meaningful, perhaps the journey makes perfect sense.

After all, whether he's building a table in his workshop, coaching a softball team or leading a sales organization, Jason's approach remains remarkably consistent: start with a strong foundation, invest the time to do it right and create something that lasts.