Lauren Stack has led a well-rounded life within the pool and spa industry.
After earning a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, Stack began her career working for a supplier to the hot tub industry. She eventually made the leap to the association side when she joined the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals in the late 1990s.
After so many years on the supplier end, her years of working at APSP enabled her to communicate with builders and service techs, which gave her a virtual 360-degree view of the industry. And all of those years of experience led her to one conclusion about the pool and spa business: “The people are passionate,” says Stack. “They want to make things better. They want their companies to grow and prosper.”
Industry path
Those strong, positive feelings about the industry led her to follow up her APSP experience with a position as the mission development director, national accounts, at the National Swimming Pool Foundation. She joined in early 2015.
In her new role, Stack has played an integral part in the merger between Genesis and NSPF. “That was my baby,” says Stack, who worked with Tom Lachocki, Ph.D., CEO of NSPF, on the merger. She went to educational venues, met with Genesis faculty and students, and had blended strategic planning sessions with the staffs of both organizations to set the direction for short and long term. Her role was to ensure that no harm was done to the Genesis culture, she says.
She believes her exposure to so many facets of the industry helped her bridge the gap between the two organizations.
“It’s just been a wonderful marriage, mostly because we value the same things,” says Stack. “We want to bring people to water. We want to make [water] beautiful, safe and functional.”
Leveraged experience
Stack may also play a role in the impending unification between NSPF and APSP. Currently, an outside consulting firm is working with the organizations to coordinate the unification process, determining details large and small, including how to best use the existing personnel. Stack hopes that in her new role, she will leverage her experience managing the Genesis business line, as well as her understanding of the residential side of the industry.
In the meantime, she will make a presentation at an executive forum to discuss the future of the industry and the associations. She also will be the lead-off speaker for the Aquatic Professionals Education Council Business Summit, held in conjunction with the Southwest Pool & Spa Show in San Antonio, Texas. At the January, 2017, event, she plans to discuss the benefits of an APSP/NSPF unification and how the industry is poised for growth.
Stack has set very lofty goals for herself within the industry. She intends to help create true pool and spa professionals through education and certification, and to help the industry bring more people to the water through greater awareness of the benefits of aquatic activity. “I’m excited about the potential for growth and helping people live healthier lives through aquatics,” she says.
