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- Beyond the Backyard: Innovation Powered by People
Smart and sustainable. That’s the continued focus at Pentair Pool, where innovation doesn’t start in a lab or end at a product launch. It starts with people — listening to them, learning from them, and designing solutions that make their lives easier, better, and more connected. That beliefis deeply embedded in how we innovate.
For Christine Richardson, Chief Technology Officer at Pentair Pool, innovation is all about building meaningful, intuitive experiences rooted in real-world needs. From connected products to factory-floor execution, her work ensures that Pentair technology delivers value not just through performance, but through trust, ease, and long-term partnership.
“I’m the Chief Technology Officer, so I’m responsible for technology development — everything from innovation to new product development and introduction into the factories, our IoT development, our connected products, and our sustaining engineering teams who support our factories,” Richardson explains.
That scope is broad by design. At Pentair, innovation isn’t a silo… it’s a system.
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Rooted in One Customer, Focused on Real Impact
Richardson’s path to Pentair was shaped by a desire to dive deeper. The pool industry was a natural fit for that vision. After working in a central engineering group that supported vastly different industries including “everything from fast food restaurants to nuclear power plants,” she was drawn to Pentair’s opportunity to focus on one ecosystem.
“I was really excited to be able to focus in on one customer,” she says, “and to be a real partner to the business from a technology standpoint.”
And, on a much more personal note, Richardson notes that there’s a very human element to her role.
“Everybody says this, but family really is the most important thing,” Richardson says. “Pools offer a way for families to connect and have great memories. I get excited about it because… Well, everybody kind of knows our products without actually knowing us.”
That familiarity brings responsibility, and the Pentair Pool team takes it seriously.
Innovation You Don’t Have to Think About
While pools may seem simple from the outside, Richardson is quick to point out how technologically advanced the industry has become. The
challenge isn’t just creating new features. The bigger challenge is making innovation feel effortless.
“It’s all about creating that holistic experience for the end user, where it’s so intuitive that they don’t even have to reflect on how innovative it is,” she says. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with the term poka-yoke, but it’s all about making sure there’s one right way to do it and that it’s easy to do. That’s where innovation stems from, a strong technology roadmap that's focused on providing the best and easiest experience for the customer.”
That philosophy guides everything from industrial design to user experience. The goal isn’t complexity — it’s clarity. And true innovation,
Richardson notes, is measured by how well it’s adopted.
“Innovation is only as good as the market acceptance,” she says. “Which means it’s especially important to make sure we’re working on the
right things and really solving customer pain points.”
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People-Powered Technology, Built on Trust
Though pools can be attention grabbing and innovative with the right products, the real lifeblood of the industry is the professionals who make the pool experience possible every day. Pentair’s innovation strategy is designed to empower pool pros, giving them the tools and confidence to be heroes for their customers.
“A big piece of that is enabling our customers — the servicers who are in backyards every day — to be able to remote monitor customer pool pads and know exactly what the problem is and what they need on their truck in order to solve it,” Richardson says.
That shift supports a more effortless pool ownership experience, a more streamlined servicing experience, and strengthened trust across the entire ecosystem.
“The servicer has to have the trust in us to make sure that they’re getting the information that they need,” she says. “That comes full circle to being able to have those worry-free pools.
”It’s a people-powered loop: homeowners trust their servicers, servicers trust Pentair, and Pentair designs technology that supports both.
Leading Through Experience and Community
So why should pool pros trust Pentair?
“We’re the leader in the industry,” Richardson says. “We have so much equipment out in the field, and we’re using and leveraging that knowledge to make sure that we have the best products on the market.”
That leadership doesn’t end with products, though. There’s also a major focus on education and support through Pentair Pool University, customer service, and decades of real-world insight.
Much of Pentair’s innovation happens quietly. But its impact is felt every day, in backyards, neighborhoods, and communities around the
world.
“It’s so much of the tinkering that you don’t see that makes Pentair special.”
Beyond the Backyard, Into the Future
As Pentair looks ahead, the path forward is clear: innovation grounded in empathy, powered by people, and focused on making life easier for the communities we serve.
Beyond the backyard is where our products live, but beyond expectations is where our innovation thrives.