The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management
What Rapid Scaling Gets Wrong About Safety and How to Fix It with Steve Catherman
November 26, 2025
"Our philosophy is behavior-based. We focus on the why and not the what, and we feel that having the human element really is where you can have an impact." Steve Catherman, VP of Safety at Tecta America Commercial Roofing OK, everyone, this one’s for the leaders who are growing fast and feeling that pressure to “keep the safety culture together,” while everything around you scales, shifts, and sometimes cracks. In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Steve Catherman, VP of Safety at Tecta America Commercial Roofing, to break down why trust, not compliance, always wins when you’re spread across 107 offices. Steve shares how 30 years of coaching shaped his leadership style, why acquisitions demand a culture-first mindset, and how consistency in regional contact cadence builds the kind of relationships that make safety stick. If you’re tired of playing safety cop and ready to build a culture that actually saves lives, this conversation is your blueprint.

"Our philosophy is behavior-based. We focus on the why and not the what, and we feel that having the human element really is where you can have an impact." Steve Catherman, VP of Safety at Tecta America Commercial Roofing

OK, everyone, this one’s for the leaders who are growing fast and feeling that pressure to “keep the safety culture together,” while everything around you scales, shifts, and sometimes cracks. In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Steve Catherman, VP of Safety at Tecta America Commercial Roofing, to break down why trust, not compliance, always wins when you’re spread across 107 offices.

Steve shares how 30 years of coaching shaped his leadership style, why acquisitions demand a culture-first mindset, and how consistency in regional contact cadence builds the kind of relationships that make safety stick. If you’re tired of playing safety cop and ready to build a culture that actually saves lives, this conversation is your blueprint.


Here are some of the topics that Steve and I explore:


Steve Catherman is Vice President of Safety at Tecta America Commercial Roofing, the largest commercial roofing contractor in the United States. With nearly 30 years of coaching experience and a background in high-risk construction environments, Steve brings a people-first philosophy to safety leadership that prioritizes culture over compliance. He leads a six-region safety team across 107 offices and plays a critical role in Tecta's acquisition due diligence process, evaluating and integrating new businesses while building trust-based safety cultures. His approach, rooted in behavioral coaching, consistency, and transparency, has helped Tecta scale its safety impact while acquiring five-plus companies annually.


Episode Resources:



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