Brisbane-based pool and spa franchise, PoolWerx, has appointed two senior managers and a marketing executive to help drive increased marketing and operation initiatives.

Lee Moore, a retail marketing specialist, has stepped into the newly created role of chief marketing officer and Zac Mina is the new chief corporate officer. Rachael Matheson joins the franchise as the marketing executive.

Moore has spent the past nine years working for the Vita Group, a lifestyle electronics and telecommunications retailer, and was a driving force behind the brand’s growth to 150 stores nationally.

“I was looking for a company that was on a strong growth trajectory,” Moore said. “That’s how PoolWerx ended up popping into my radar”.

Moore, who started at PoolWerx in September 2009, will be responsible for the franchise’s marketing – both to consumers and in business, as well as franchise development.

Not having any experience with the franchising system, Moore is finding the transition from the company-owned model exciting and challenging.

“The differences [between the two models] are about engagement. In a company-owned environment, if I have an opportunity that I want to take from a marketing perspective, it’s a company-owned decision. I don’t have to consult the channel, where here I really need the engagement of the franchisees and the advisory councils and all of the other various groups,” he said.

“Gaining their trust and being able to have them want to endorse a decision quickly is really important.”

Increasing PoolWerx’s brand profile is one of Moore’s first and most important goals, as well as increasing the number of franchisees within the group. “On a franchise development point of view,” he said, “we have 300 territories – 200 of them are active. I’d love to be able to put another 100 people into the group.”