SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Hunter Industries, a manufacturer of irrigation equipment for professionally installed systems, announced the resignation of Jeff Carowitz, the company’s vice president of marketing. Carowitz will leave the company effective May 1 to become an independent marketing consultant. He will continue to consult with Hunter on a wide range of initiatives, as well as work with other manufacturers in the green industry.
"Deciding to leave Hunter was a difficult decision for me, but it was the right time," Carowitz says. "I've been in the industry so long - I've been in the landscaping and irrigation industry for 25 years, 14 of them with Hunter, and I've made a lot of great contacts along the way. It's hard to leave this family behind, but I'm looking forward to staying in the loop with Hunter and working on strategic projects, as well as spreading my wings and working with some other companies."
Since 1993, Richard Hunter has served as president and CEO of Hunter Industries. In addition, six vice presidents make up the company’s executive committee. Carowitz was one of these vice presidents. As Richard Hunter started consolidating his direct reports and streamlining the company's operations, Carowitz says he realized this would be the ideal time to start his own entrepreneurial venture. Brandon Meadows, the company's vice president of sales, will take over Carowitz's job in addition to his own, becoming Hunter's vice president of sales and marketing.
“We are grateful for Jeff’s contributions to our growth," Hunter shares. "He had a significant strategic impact on the rapid expansion of our product line and our strong brand image in the marketplace."
Carowitz joined Hunter in 1992 as a summer intern. He held the positions of product manager, product planning manager, promotions manager and marketing manager. He was promoted to vice president of marketing in 1998. Carowitz oversaw the introduction of numerous new products that expanded Hunter into a full-line manufacturer for the residential, commercial and golf course markets. He was also creator of the Hunter Preferred Contractor Program, the industry’s largest frequent buyer program. "Hunter now has a full product line for this industry and a solid marketing strategy, becoming one of the top two players," Carowitz says. "These were my goals while I was here and now that they are in place, I'm not sure they need anymore big things from me. But then I started thinking that maybe I can use my expertise in these areas to help some other manufacturers with their frequent buyer programs, distribution strategies, ad campaigns, databases, electronic marketing or Web-based training initiatives."
In addition to consulting with product manufacturers on their marketing-based initiatives, Carowitz has also had some experience in helping landscape contractors grow their businesses, though he says his marketing consulting business will not focus specifically on this area. "There is a lot of opportunity out there - there are smart, energetic people in this industry and I'm hearing their ideas and the great things they are doing. I put myself through college by being an irrigation contractor. Though I may not be an expert in this area today, I'm willing to dig in and work with them. Also, this is good experience for me to understand what the daily struggles are like for the contractor and continue to connect with that."
But before he moves on to his new venture, Carowitz remains loyal to Hunter. "I want to finish well with them before I dig into my new venture," he says. "I have some commitments here that I want to see through, and I want to make sure they have a smooth transition and that I finish well with Hunter."