Shana Hoch, left, is the new CEO and president of Secondwind Water Systems, and Christine Fletcher, right, is retiring Secondwind co-founder and president.
Christine Fletcher, co-Founder and president of Secondwind Water Systems, A Manchester company that installs water treatment systems, is retiring and appointed Shana Hoch as president and CEO.
Founded in 1989, Secondwind is majority owned by Fletcher and her husband, fellow co-founder Crispin. Christine took the reins as president 23 years ago, and grew Secondwind to a 45-person company servicing more than 15,000 residential and commercial customers. Christine knew transitioning a company from founder-run to independently operated was going to take work.
“I spent significant time thinking about how to best continue Secondwind Water’s mission after I retired,” says Fletcher. “The company has been a part of me for more than 30 years, and we have worked hard to deliver the best water solutions with exceptional customer service. Finding a leader to support our customers and employees, maintain our 5-star ratings, and help us grow was no easy undertaking.”
Seeking to make the best possible selection, Fletcher hired a recruiter and made the Secondwind leadership team a part of the interview process.
“Everyone wanted a human connector, someone who was warm, open, honest and caring—someone who had a high level of integrity and would appreciate the customers and the employees,” says Fletcher. "They found that person in Hoch.
Hoch was most recently served as a managing director at Sprague Operating Resources, where she was responsible for overseeing customer experience, marketing, Salesforce.com, and innovation. While at Sprague, Hoch worked periodically with employees from Kinetico Incorporated, a global manufacturer of water treatment systems. Secondwind also has a strong relationship with Kinetico, as Secondwind is NH’s only authorized Kinetico dealer.
“As soon as the recruiter told me the opportunity was at Secondwind, I reached out to my contacts at Kinetico,” says Hoch. “They were highly complimentary about Christine and the team at Secondwind and thought my background and skill set would be a great match for the role.”
Hoch will guide Secondwind as it transitions to an employee-owned company, another goal of Fletcher’s.
“The team at Secondwind is like a family—they are passionate, they challenge each other, and they hold each other accountable,” says Fletcher. “It was important to me to choose someone who could also carry out the work needed to transition ownership to the employees. Providing high quality effective water solutions is a balance of science, in determining what’s in the water and how to clean it up, and art, in choosing the right solution based on the needs of our customers. The knowledge and experience of our employees is critically important to our success in the effort to combat water challenges in New Hampshire and beyond.”
“One of the things that most attracted me to Secondwind was Christine’s vision for the company,” says Hoch. “She understands the importance of people—our employees and our customers. Her willingness and interest in making the company employee-owned really highlights how important people are to her and the business. With the right people, we can do anything.”
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