People – Interview Committee

VP Sales & Marketing

Curtis joined Hydra-Flex in October 2019 and brings with him 17 years of experience working in highly regulated markets, commercializing and marketing novel medical devices. Prior to Hydra-Flex, Curtis held a leadership position at Reprise Biomedical. Curtis also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, investing, reading, and relaxing at the family’s hobby farm.

Senior Director of Sales

Mike joined Hydra-Flex in December 2017 as the Industrial Sales Manager and is now our Senior Director of Sales. Mike brings to HFI over 15 years of B2B sales and leadership experience working for a national distributor of business products. After graduating from Indiana University, Mike went to work for TCF Bank as a Consumer Lending Manager. Following his success selling B2C, Mike transitioned his career to focus on B2B, joining Staples Business Advantage. There Mike held various sales and leadership roles, most recently serving as the Regional Sales Director for the Midwest. Mike is extremely excited to join the Hydra-Flex team to help grow the Industrial Sales Business. Outside of the office, Mike enjoys traveling with his wife and two daughters, relaxing at the family cabin, and taking in the kids' various activities.

Industrial Sales Manager

Ryan joined Hydra-Flex in April of 2018 as the Industrial Account Manager and is now our Industrial Sales Manager. Ryan has over 17 years of B2B sales experience, most recently in the office and janitorial supply industry. He is a graduate of Bethel University with a degree in Business/Political Science. His role here at Hydra-Flex is to support our distributor partners and help them grow their business with the Hydra-Flex line of Industrial nozzles. Outside of the office, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, football, camping, and coaching his son’s activities.

Marketing Communications Manager

Emily joined Hydra-Flex in the fall of 2019 as the Marketing Communications Manager. She graduated from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint Johns University with a degree in Marketing – Communications and Art. Emily has spent her career thus far in B2B service marketing at large commercial architecture firms. She loves learning about a company’s brand, story and audience and is passionate about driving a messaging and content strategy to create results. Emily grew up in the most German town in America – New Ulm, MN. Thus, her love of drinking beer and order – preferably orderly beer drinking. She also loves all things related to pop culture, the British Royal Family, the MN Twins, shoes and DIY Crafting. Ice cream is also a food group in her house.

IT Manager

Brady recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Stout with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information and Communication Technology. Brady joined the Hydra-Flex team in August 2017 and is excited to be a part of the growing IT team at HFI. Brady hopes to bring new insight into IT processes and increase productivity by introducing more technology at HFI. In his spare time, he likes to go hiking, exploring the art of photography, and spending time with his dog. He also enjoys playing sports, such as baseball and basketball, and cheering on Wisconsin sports teams.

Senior Project Engineer

Caleb joined Hydra-Flex's engineering team in October 2016. After receiving his bachelor's degree at Minnesota State - Mankato, Caleb worked in product design, mainly in the fluid handling and medical device fields. He enjoys tackling design problems and designing new innovative solutions for the end customer. Outside of work, Caleb enjoys playing flag football, lifting weights, wakeboarding, snowboarding, and keeping up with his favorite sports teams.

Innovation Engineer

With a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Pa joined the Hydra-Flex team in September 2019. He has experience as a Designer and a Power Plant System Engineer. In his free time he likes to spend time with family, bake, play video games, tennis, work on house projects, and your typical car maintenance. He won’t pass up ice cream, a ping-pong match, or a race in Mario Kart.

Senior Project Engineer

Jeff joined Hydra-Flex in October 2017 as a Product Engineer. Jeff received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University Minnesota Duluth. At a previous employer, he worked on continuous improvement projects on various lines of power equipment such as air compressors, log splitters, semi-trash pumps, and generators. At work Jeff likes to design and improve products so customers have the best product to fit their needs. Outside of work, Jeff enjoys working on home improvement projects, grilling, hanging out with friends, and keeping up with football and hockey.

Director of Quality Assurance

Brenda joined Hydra-Flex in June 2018 as Hydra-Flex’s Director of Quality Assurance, bringing over 20 years of quality and manufacturing experience from the printed circuit board and filtration industries. She has an extensive background in Lean, 6-Sigma and Quality Management Systems, as well as degrees in Composite Materials Engineering and Mathematics from Winona State and a Masters in Manufacturing Systems from the University of St. Thomas. At work, Brenda enjoys designing, implementing and developing systems and solving complex problems. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, biking, camping, volleyball and watching MN hockey and Packers football.

Purchasing Manager

Jessica joined the Operations Team at Hydra-Flex in August 2016. She brings over two decades of supply chain and inventory management experience to her role as Purchasing Manager, and she contributes to Hydra-Flex’s ability to provide on-time delivery of quality products. She has an extensive background in custom fabrication and manufacturing and believes strongly in delivering consistent customer satisfaction and maintaining strong relationships with quality suppliers. Fall and spring are Jessica’s favorite seasons here in her native state of Minnesota, and you will often find her enjoying free time with her husband at their cabin in the northern woodlands.

Manufacturing Engineering Manager

Joe joined Hydra-Flex in September 2017 as a Senior Manufacturing Engineer. Joe has a background in Process Improvement, Automation, and Operations. At work, he is looking for ways to improve current processes and use data to solve problems. At home, Joe enjoys spending time with his family and can usually be found in the garage working on a project.

Technical Production Supervisor

Zack interned with Hydra-Flex during the summer of 2018 before joining the team full-time in May 2019 as a Manufacturing Engineer. He graduated from the University of Minnesota – Duluth with degrees in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. At work Zack focuses on problem solving, process improvement, lean manufacturing, and data analysis. He is always looking for different methods to increase efficiency. Outside of work Zack enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, hunting, woodworking, watching his favorite sports teams, and spending time at the cabin.

Human Resources Manager

Carrie joined Hydra-Flex in January 2017 as the company’s first HR team member. Her focus is to create programs and processes to make Hydra-Flex a “Great Place to Work." She graduated from La Salle University with a math degree while playing on the Divison I women's basketball team for the Explorers. Carrie previously worked in actuarial at Blue Cross Blue Shield and held several volunteer board positions within the Eagan Athletic Association. She continues to volunteer much of her time coaching and was crowned the inaugural national Jr. NBA Coach of the Year in recognition of her dedication to youth sports. Besides coaching, Carrie enjoys spending her free time with her husband and four kids, exercising, hiking, reading, and game nights with friends and neighbors.

HR Generalist

Riley joined the Human Resources team at Hydra-Flex in March of 2020 as a Human Resources Generalist. She graduated from Iowa State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies. Prior to joining the Hydra-Flex team, Riley worked in healthcare where she focused on onboarding and training new Nursing Assistants. She is excited to be apart of a company where workplace culture and employee engagement are of upmost importance. In her free time Riley enjoys spending time with her family & husband, meeting up with friends for happy hour and snuggling up with her Golden Retriever, Winnie!

Cost Accountant

Andrew joined Hydra-Flex in October of 2017. He holds a degree in economics from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Prior to working at Hydra-Flex, he worked for Ecolab and Cargill. In addition to his accounting role, he has also captained Hydra-Flex’s Ragnar Relay Team and is a member of the safety task team, fun committee, and interview team. Outside of Hydra-Flex Andrew is an avid disc golfer, runner, woodworker, and hobby mechanic.