Belfor

Disaster recovery company Belfor Restoration isn't exactly a household name, but they serve an important purpose - they help to rebuild and restore property after natural and man-made disasters. CEO Sheldon Yellen did plenty to boost the company's profile when he took his turn on CBS's "Undercover Boss" after his son suggested it.

Thus, the CEO of a company with a presence in 29 countries found himself on the frontlines of disaster recovery work, helping with water removal and rebuilding.

In an emotional moment in Sunday's "Undercover" episode, Yellen breaks character and reveals himself to one employee he's working in the trenches with, promising to get her the long-overdue raise that didn't come with her promotion.

That said, he's not perfect. Like many Undercover Bosses, Yellen does his fair share of whining and longing for his ivory tower. In the epic battle of drywall vs. Yellen, the drywall definitely wins.

Despite the boss showing the usual manual labor incompetence that comes packaged with unrestricted private jet access, we have to hand it to him. Belfor Restoration had a big hand in NBC's gone-too-soon "School Pride", providing time and materials to rebuild schools in need of a makeover.

Belfor has also been particularly successful when it comes to acquiring similar businesses, but unlike your typical business empire, Belfor makes an effort not to squash the little guy. "All the entrepreneurs who sold us their businesses have stayed on our payroll all this time," Yellen tells bnet, "running their local operations. We've had private-equity firms look at Belfor to try to buy our company, and they can't believe it."