Atlas
Back to Building Products
Founder / Operator·Building Products

Harley Magden

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Window Nation

Baltimore, MD

HM
Why they matter

Built Window Nation from a single showroom to a national platform and sold it to two different PE firms, giving him rare operator-side insight into building-products roll-up diligence and post-close execution.

Background

Harley Magden co-founded Window Nation in 2006 with his brother Aaron, growing it from a single Maryland showroom into one of the largest non-franchise replacement-window installers in the U.S., with 20+ markets and over one million window installations. He led the company as CEO through two private-equity ownership cycles — sold to Cortec Group in 2018 and to AEA Investors in 2021 — before pivoting into the luxury auto sector, where he now runs Magden Motors and, as of 2025, co-owns Marshall Goldman Motor Sales.

Notable deals

  • 2018
    Cortec Group acquires Window Nation (fifth platform investment of Cortec Fund VI); Magden and brother Aaron retain significant ownership and continue leading the company
  • 2021
    AEA Investors' Middle Market Private Equity team closes acquisition of Window Nation Holding, LLC from Cortec Group; Magden brothers retain operational control
  • 2025
    Harley and Aaron Magden acquire Marshall Goldman Motor Sales from private equity, merging it with their Magden Motors dealership; Harley becomes Managing Partner and Chief Marketing Officer

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Cleveland native; co-founded Window Nation in 2006 with brother Aaron, learning the trade in their father's window business.
  • Grew Window Nation into a 20+ market, 500+ employee direct-to-consumer window/door/siding/roofing installer with 1M+ installations.
  • Sold the business twice as founder-operator: to Cortec Group (2018) and to AEA Investors (2021) — retained equity and operating control through both.

Current focus

  • Runs FRB Holdings, his personal investment vehicle (portfolio includes seven restaurants).
  • Pivoted into luxury/exotic autos: built Magden Motors, then acquired Marshall Goldman Motor Sales (Aug 2025), merging the brands and expanding beyond Cleveland/Baltimore into Beverly Hills and Newport Beach.

What he cares about

  • Direct-to-consumer sales engines and marketing-led growth (his stated differentiator at Window Nation).
  • Founder-friendly deal structures that let operators keep control post-close — he did this across two separate PE sponsors.
  • Family business continuity (kept his brother as partner throughout; structured Marshall Goldman deal to keep the founding family involved).

Sensitivities

  • He's fully exited building products/window distribution — approach as a market expert/advisor angle, not a re-recruitment pitch.
  • Current attention and capital are focused on the auto dealership platform; gauge bandwidth before assuming deep engagement.

Questions to ask

  1. What made Cortec and then AEA the right partners at each stage, and what would you do differently structuring a founder rollover today?
  2. Where do you see consolidation opportunity left in residential building-products distribution post-2021?
  3. What operational levers (marketing, install labor, financing) most moved EBITDA at Window Nation that a diligence team might underweight?

Outreach draft

Subject
Your Window Nation build-and-exit playbook
Hi Harley, I'm reaching out from a private equity firm focused on the building-products and home-services space. Your run building Window Nation from a single Maryland showroom into a 20+ market platform — and navigating two sponsor transitions along the way — is exactly the perspective we're looking for as we evaluate opportunities in residential distribution and installed-services roll-ups. Would you be open to a 30-minute call to share what you learned about scaling the sales engine and working with PE partners at each stage? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Your Name]

Linked companies

Sources