ETwater’s team of advisors has been invaluable to the company in the product design and marketing strategy. This outstanding group includes highly respected professionals in the fields of landscape products distribution, horticulture science and irrigation system design.
Mark Agnew provides counsel on distribution, sales and marketing strategy. He has helped the Company hone its distribution strategy in recent months. Mr. Agnew is the founder and former CEO of United Green Mark, one of the nation’s largest and most successful irrigation distribution companies. After growing UGM to $170 million in annual sales across several Western states, Mr. Agnew sold his company to an East coast investment company. He has invested in ETWS and is active as a consultant to management.
Blair LaCorte serves as a marketing and strategy advisor to ETwater. He has more than fifteen years experience in senior level business development and strategy positions with a variety of technology companies. Most recently he was Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Savi Technology, a leader in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, whose technology is used to track and manage assets throughout the global supply chain. Prior to Savi, Blair Senior Vice President of Strategy and E-Commerce for VerticalNet, the largest manager of Business-to-Business marketplaces on the Internet. Prior to VerticalNet, Blair was a Manager of Strategy and also Genral Manager of two divisions at AutoDesk, a CAD software company, and was Manager of Worldwide Strategy and Planning for Sun Microsystems. Blair is currently an Executive Fellow at the Center for Digital Studies at Dartmouth College. He is a graduate of University of Maine and the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth.
Dennis Pittenger, the primary horticulture expert for ETWS, is Area Horticulturist for University of California, Riverside and author/editor of the authoritative California Master Gardener Handbook, a 700-page text published by the University of California and used by professionals and others qualifying for the coveted designation of “Master Gardener.” Mr. Pittenger is known for his extensive research in landscape irrigation and has performed many leading studies analyzing irrigation requirements and issues in a mixed-plant landscaping context. Mr. Pittenger and his colleagues at U.C. Riverside are currently conducting trials for several water purveyors and municipalities to evaluate how various controllers stand up to their manufacturer’s claims.
Stephen Smith, the primary irrigation expert used by ETWS, is chairman of Aqua Engineering, Inc., a leading international engineering firm based in Denver, Colorado specializing in water-conserving irrigation system design. Mr. Smith is past president of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) and is a teaching professor in the Civil Engineering Department at Colorado State University. Mr. Smith is also the author of the leading textbook in the irrigation field, Landscape Irrigation: Design and Management, published in 1997. Notable landscape irrigation projects designed by Mr. Smith include EuroDisneyland in Paris, the King’s Palace in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the 22-mile T-Rex Interstate 25 highway expansion in South Denver, and Disneyland in Hong Kong (opening in 2005). He holds a BS degree in agriculture engineering from New Mexico State and a Masters degree in irrigation engineering from Colorado State University.
