Top 50 Business Broker in Florida: Three Years Running (And Why Roofing Is All I Do)

The Business Brokers of Florida (BBF) just released its annual awards, and I’m proud to share that I’ve been named one of the Top 50 Business Brokers in Florida for the third year in a row. To put that in perspective: the BBF has over 1,100 licensed business broker members across the state. Making the Top 50 means placing in roughly the top 4% of all business brokers in Florida, three consecutive years. This year also marks my fourth consecutive year earning the Million Dollar Plus Club,  awarded to brokers who close more than $1 million annually. And in 2023, I ranked #1 business broker in the state of Florida.

Claudio Vilas with the BBF Top 50 and Deal Maker Award plaques,  Fort Lauderdale, FL

On top of the BBF recognition, the IBBA — the International Business Brokers Association,  awarded me the Chairman’s Circle Award in 2023 and the Platinum Chairman’s Circle Award in 2024, their highest national honor for deal volume and professionalism. The M&A Source recognized me with the Gold Club Award in both 2023 and 2024. I’m not listing those numbers to brag. I’m listing them because if you’re a roofing company owner thinking about selling, credentials matter. Results matter. You deserve to know who you’re working with.

What Changed Everything: Going All-In on One Industry

Here’s the truth most business brokers won’t tell you: generalists leave money on the table. Not because they’re bad brokers — but because selling a business well requires deep, industry-specific knowledge that you simply can’t fake. I made a decision to focus exclusively on one industry: roofing company M&A. No HVAC. No plumbing. No “general contractors.” Just roofing. That means when I sit across from a buyer doing due diligence on a roofing business, I know exactly what they’re looking for,  storm dependency, crew structure, insurance carrier relationships, backlog quality, subcontractor ratios, seasonal revenue patterns. I know where the bodies are buried, and more importantly, I know how to make sure my sellers don’t get picked apart during negotiations. That focus is what drives results. It’s why roofing company owners from Florida to Texas reach out to me when it’s time to sell — not a generalist broker who dabbles in roofing deals once a year.

A New Chapter: The Roofing Biz Broker

Late 2025 marked a major milestone. After years as a top producer at Sunbelt Business Brokers — one of the largest business brokerage networks in the world — I founded my own firm: The Roofing Biz Broker. My wife Mercedes (a 25 year Citibank veteran and now a licensed business broker herself) joined the firm as my partner. She handles financial analysis, CIM preparation, and deal analytics. Between us, we bring a level of focus, attention to detail, and seller advocacy that a large generalist brokerage simply can’t match. We are sell-side only. We represent roofing company owners. That’s it. No conflict of interest, no divided loyalty, no distraction.

What This Means If You Own a Roofing Business

If you’re a roofing company owner in the $5M–$50M revenue range and you’ve been thinking about an exit — whether that’s in six months or three years — here’s what you need to know: The market for roofing companies is strong. Private equity groups, strategic acquirers, and family offices are actively pursuing roofing platforms right now. Preparation is everything. The roofing company owners who get top dollar aren’t the ones who call a broker the week they decide to sell. They’re the ones who worked with an advisor 12–18 months ahead of time. Specialization protects you. A broker who doesn’t live in the roofing M&A world won’t know how to defend your EBITDA when a buyer’s QofE firm starts adjusting numbers. I do.

The Bottom Line

Three years in the Top 50. Four years in the Million Dollar Club. Number one in the state in 2023. Then I left one of the biggest brokerage networks in the country to build something better. This is just the beginning.