Successor named at Secondwind Water as co-founder retires

Shana Hoch, left, Secondwind Water Systems’ new CEO, and Christine Fletcher, who has announced her retirement of the firm she co-founded with her husband Crispin 1989.

There’s been a change in leadership at Secondwind Water Systems as the firm’s CEO, Christine Fletcher, has decided to retire from the water services company she co-founded 33 years ago.

Fletcher, who co-founded the company with her husband Crispin Fletcher in 1989. She took the reins as president of the firm in 1999 and grew Secondwind to a 45-person company serving over 15,000 residential and commercial customers.

Named to succeed Fletcher is Shana Hoch, most recently a managing director at Sprague Operating Resources Inc., where she was responsible for overseeing customer experience, marketing and innovation.

While at Sprague, Hoch worked periodically with employees from Kinetico Inc., a manufacturer of water treatment systems with which Secondwind has had a long relationship as the only authorized Kinetico dealer in New Hampshire.

“I spent significant time thinking about how to best continue Secondwind Water’s mission after I retired,” said 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.”

Fletcher said she turned to Hoch after a deliberative hiring 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,” said Fletcher. They were also loud and clear that they want someone who will hold people accountable. Everyone felt that Shana held all those qualities at once. You’ll see there’s something magical about her. She’s open, warm and comfortable, but she’s strong.”

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,” said 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.”