I began my career in water directly out of college, knowing I wanted to get into technical sales. I had a friend who was co-oping with Nalco and that was my first real glimpse into industrial water treatment, having taken an environmental engineering class on municipal water treatment. I ended up interviewing with Nalco and Crown Engineering in early 2001 and decided to join the Crown, feeling that the consulting approach to water treatment would be more rewarding than what I perceived was a more transaction-based approach.
I spent the first two years of my career managing a customer base within 50 miles of Dayton, OH, being mentored by some long-time AWT members in James McDonald and Dave Christophersen. Those first two years really shaped the direction of my career and growth as a water treatment professional.
The next 7 years were spent in Illinois, managing a territory and area with a fairly diverse customer base in terms of applications encountered and markets served by their products and services. During that period of time, Crown was purchased by Veolia, which opened up new opportunities above and beyond industrial water treatment.
An opportunity arose in early 2010 to move into a technical role, working alongside James and Dave so I took it. It was another defining moment in my career as it gave me an opportunity to sharpen my skills and knowledge base. My areas of focus were on training, education, and product and field support. I not only supported the chemical treatment part of our business, but expanded into equipment and specialized services. For the first time in my career, I spent more time flying than I did driving, which was enjoyable to get out of the Midwest. I also felt I had a chance to make a bigger impact as it wasn't just my territory or area I was supporting or assisting.
In late 2013, and opportunity to get back into technical sales opened up and I moved into a district manager role. The geography was fairly expansive and with turnover in a few geographies, I transitioned into a hiring manager fairly fast. This opened my eyes to the process of recruiting and talent assessment. I also enjoyed the team I was working with and in certain areas, helped form. I was also working in geographies I had not been in before, which allowed me to engage with people and companies I had not previously known or heard of in many instances.
In 2018, life took a few different turns, with the life-altering excitement around the birth of my sons to the devastating passing of my father a month later. After much reflection, it was time for new chapter in my career and a fantastic opportunity developed at APTech, a company I am proud to be apart of today. Having worked with many water treatment companies who were valuable suppliers and true partners, like APTech, the opportunity to work with hundreds of water treatment companies in the US and beyond has been truly enjoyable.
My areas of experience include and is not limited to: BWT/CWT/PWT/WWT chemistry & application, chemical feed systems & control, pretreatment systems (membranes/IONX/filtration/liq-solids separation), mass balance, problem solving, troubleshooting, and cost savings evaluations. I have experience across most industrial markets, with a wide ranges of systems and operating dynamics.
In my personal time, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two boys, traveling, spending time outdoors, and with friends and family. I enjoy golf, reading, going to concerts, great food & drink, and travel.