Building the Future Together: Yankee Barn Homes Becomes 100% Employee-Owned
Yankee Barn Homes transitions to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), making the company 100% employee-owned and giving the people behind its success a direct stake in its future and direction.
Grantham, NH — For fifteen years, owners and close associates Paul Marinelli and Jeffrey Rosen have worked to restore Yankee Barn Homes to its place as a premier supplier of panelized timber frame homes and to deliver on clients’ wishes. Now, as they look toward the company’s future, a close-knit family team, they’ve made a decision that reflects the very values that have guided their mission and work: putting people first and building something that lasts.
The decision Marinelli and Rosen made for Yankee Barn Homes reflects that same sentiment: putting team and family first. The owners have chosen to transition Yankee Barn Homes to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), making the company 100% employee-owned and giving the people behind its success a direct stake in its future and direction.
For Marinelli and Rosen, the decision was close to their hearts.
“When we purchased the assets of Yankee Barn Homes, our objective was to restore the brand to its rightful position in the marketplace and build something that would last,” Marinelli said.
“This company exists because of the people who show up every day, solve problems, and care about our customers. Selling to an ESOP is the best way we knew to honor that.”
The decision came after careful consideration of how best to preserve the company they had spent years rebuilding, and how to better support their dedicated and trusted employees. Employee ownership offered a way to protect Yankee Barn Homes’ independence, maintain its close-knit culture, and ensure that the people who know the business best would have a meaningful role in its future.
“We wanted to make sure the values we built this company on-integrity, accountability, and respect for people-would continue long after we stepped back,” Rosen said. “An ESOP keeps the company in the hands of people who understand it best.”
Under the ESOP, employees will become beneficial owners at no cost to them, gaining a meaningful share in the company’s long-term success and an additional retirement benefit. The transition also preserves the continuity that clients and customers have come to expect, with no changes to day-to-day operations or customer relationships.
Leading the Yankee Barn Homes family into this next chapter is Kerri Post, who joined Yankee Barn Homes in 2014 and has served as Chief Operating Officer for the past four years. Post has assumed the trusted role of President and CEO, bringing more than a decade of experience with the company and a deep understanding of the people, processes, and craftsmanship behind its work.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together, and it’s an honor to lead Yankee Barn Homes into this next chapter,” Post said.
“I know how much the people here care about this company, our customers, and each other. To know that the people who work so hard every day to make Yankee Barn Homes successful have the opportunity to share in its future is deeply rewarding.”
In Marinelli and Rosen’s eyes, that continuity is what makes the transition meaningful. The goal was never just to build a successful business, but to create something timeless and leave it well-positioned for the decades ahead.
“This is not simply a financial transaction for us,” the owners emphasized. “It is about continuity. Our customers will see the same faces, same standards, and the same commitment they have always relied on.”
Yankee Barn Homes has spent more than 55 years designing and building custom panelized timber frame home packages for residential customers nationwide. Distinctive designs, quality production, and lasting customer relationships have shaped its reputation, qualities the company intends to carry forward under employee ownership.
“For us, success hasn’t just been measured in revenue,” Marinelli and Rosen said. “It has been measured in positioning the company to be stronger 10, 20, 30 years from now. Employee ownership gives us confidence that it will be.”
About Yankee Barn Homes
Founded in 1969 by Emil Hanslin, Yankee Barn Homes designs and builds custom panelized timber frame home packages. Based in Grantham, New Hampshire, the company serves residential customers nationwide and has built its reputation on distinctive designs, high-quality production, and exceptional customer service. Now 100% employee-owned, Yankee Barn Homes remains committed to creating distinctive homes while preserving the craftsmanship, values, and customer relationships that have defined the company for more than 55 years.
