Poolwerx franchisees will benefit from an increased focus on technology and innovation as the pool care franchise appoints two new senior executives to head up the key departments.
Founder and CEO John O’Brien believes the new appointments will give franchisees a competitive edge.
Russell Inserra takes on the chief technology officer’s role with responsibility for building infrastructure and enhancing products and services to best anticipate changing client needs.
“Technology is a key innovation enabler across products, services and operations for Poolwerx,” says John. “The last five years have seen us build a robust technology infrastructure to meet the changing consumer needs and ensure we provide our franchise partners with a world-class platform that helps them automate their business.
“Russell has a strong technology and finance background, he knows the ins and outs of the franchising world, but also brings cross-industry experience from the insurance and education sectors,” John says.
To head up innovation, O’Brien’s son Shannon [pictured above] joins the senior executive team, bringing experience in London, New York, Sydney and Brisbane; he has worked with major firms such as Proctor & Gamble, Volvo, and Bank of America.
John says “Poolwerx continues to look for ways to improve our global impact and this significant appointment to the leadership team will allow us to forge ahead with sustainability and keep business development front of mind.
“Since our inception, a key part of our ongoing growth is to constantly evolve and develop new innovations and initiatives. This ensures we stay ahead of our competitors,” he says.
“Shannon’s commitment to impactful change and continuous improvement will be a great asset to the business as we navigate continual changes with agile responses to new opportunities,” he adds.
Shannon is the first appointee as chief innovation officer and he is tasked with fast-tracking the implementation of new systems and processes across the network and growing the innovation pipeline.
As a sign of the international reach Poolwerx now has, Shannon will be based in New York.