James Broderick started in the industry by managing a swim school. As the general manager of Goldfish Swim School in 2018, Broderick oversaw a 60,000-gallon pool, taught life-saving skills to kids and worked as a certified lifeguard instructor. When the pandemic closed the school in 2020, Broderick saw an opportunity. Using a stimulus check, he and his wife started JB’s Pool Care.
Angela Tran’s career has been marked by a unique blend of financial expertise, operational leadership and strategic planning, which she has applied across a variety of industries. Today, she serves as chief strategy officer for HASA, where her passion for innovation and commitment to sustainability are at the forefront of her work.
Kristal Needham’s path to founding Freedom Solar Energy began in 2009, during a turbulent time for both the housing and pool industry. Solar pool heating, however, had already been a staple for over 40 years, providing owners with an effective, energy-efficient way to heat their pools. Needham saw this niche as the perfect opportunity to make her mark, especially as government rebates and incentives helped raise awareness about solar energy’s potential.
When David Jones was 11, a family friend hired him to do some gardening work.
“After about six months, we noticed that the pool maintenance jobs seemed much easier,” he says. “We contacted [a friend’s] uncle who was a pool cleaner and asked him to teach us the ropes. He took my friend along for a day, and soon after, we placed an ad in the Pennysaver and started acquiring pool service accounts.”
Jim Eisch’s path into the pool industry started early.
Swade Dungan joined Spartan Pool and Patio in 2017, jumping straight into pool openings.
Jacob Cummins dove into the pool industry as a technical sales manager at Zodiac, focusing on growing the aftermarket presence for service providers. His role involved understanding technical troubleshooting in the field and leveraging that expertise to boost sales among service companies. This hands-on experience laid the foundation for his current position as a territory sales manager, where he aims to expand Fluidra’s equipment presence in both new construction and the aftermarket segments.
Alana Fletcher joined Fluidra’s marketing department in 2021. Referred by a friend from the company’s earlier days as Zodiac, Fletcher quickly took charge of managing social media channels and crafting creative copy. Her dedication has paid off, and she was recently promoted to communications specialist.
Morgan Wykstra’s career in the pool industry began with Fluidra as a technical writer at the Cover-Pools location.
Christy Townsley’s career in the pool industry is built on a strong foundation of marketing experience across both consumer-packaged goods and manufacturing. Currently, as a market manager for Nidec Motor Corporation, she focuses on business development and understanding market segments. Her varied background has helped her adapt and learn, which she views as key elements of her success.
Through a hurricane and a pandemic, Miguel Cabello has grown a thriving business through hard work and perseverance.
Once the pool business sucks you in, you won’t get out. That’s what Mike Ellison says, and he is happy it happened to him.