Every year, one of the issues I look forward to most is our 30 Under 40. This feature spotlights the incredible young leaders who are shaping the future of the pool industry. The class of 2025 is no exception — they are builders, service pros, innovators and entrepreneurs who embody the grit that keeps this trade moving forward.
PoolPro is proud to announce the 2025 Class of 30 Under 40, celebrating the next generation of leaders driving innovation, professionalism and excellence. This year’s honorees represent a diverse group of pool professionals who are making a significant impact in their communities and helping shape the future of the industry.
With over a decade of experience in pool and home improvement financing, Sarah Bess has built her career on fostering strong partnerships and helping families bring their backyard dreams to life. She spent seven years at Lyon Financial as director of marketing and dealer services before joining Viking Capital, where she now serves as director of business development. She supports contractors nationwide by showing them how financing can help close more jobs, educate homeowners and make pool ownership more accessible.
When Olivia Powell graduated from Florida State University in 2020, she entered the workforce at the height of the pandemic — when job opportunities were scarce. She found a job at Viking Capital as an assistant under the company’s director of marketing.
Blayr Lignoski has spent more than a decade building his career in nearly every corner of the pool industry. He started in retail with A&M Corson’s Aquavalue, worked in repairs with the same company, then served as warehouse manager at Tropical Water Pools before moving into service management with National Pool Partners/Aquaman Pools.
When Mara Gillott joined National Pool Partners in 2023, she brought more than 20 years of experience in the real estate sector and a fresh perspective on operational excellence. Initially hired as a consultant, she focused on improving efficiency, streamlining processes and shaping procedures to support a rapidly growing company.
When Brittaney Hernandez joined Cody Pools, she admits she didn’t know much about pools — beyond the fact that you put chlorine in the water and swim. Starting in the warranty department, she immersed herself in the details of pool construction, equipment and service.
For Elizabeth Pecora, a lifelong passion for swimming and water safety has shaped her career path. She spent six years teaching swim lessons — four as a manager at Love Swimming Swim School in New Orleans and two more as a private instructor.
Sam Pizzo’s career in the pool industry has spanned residential and commercial construction, design and sales — all experiences that laid the foundation for starting his own company. He began in residential construction supervision, gaining hands-on experience managing builds and learning what it takes to deliver a quality backyard project. From there, he transitioned to commercial projects, tackling the complexities of large-scale pools before ultimately returning to the residential market, where his passion for design and client collaboration took root.
Walker Draeger started in the industry with his own company, D’s Pool Cleaning, before joining Avree Custom Pools in 2019 as an assistant project manager. Within a year, he was promoted to project manager, and by the end of 2020 he had moved into pool design — where he brings backyards to life.
For Trese Huss, the pool industry is family history. Her father founded Pool Care Specialists in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, in 1984, and by 2005 she was working alongside him. Over the years, she held nearly every job in the business, from riding along with service crews and working in the retail store to overseeing scheduling, billing and operations as service manager. That experience gave her a 360-degree view of how the industry works and the confidence to build her path forward.
Andrew Kanetsky’s pool career has a surprising beginning: as a lifeguard who, by his own admission, was “terrible — really bad.”