Sylmar Announces CFO and Water Treatment Leadership as Company Enters Next Stage of Growth

Appointments of Sylmar CFO, Water Treatment President, and Water Treatment COO mark the transition from regional to national execution

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sylmar Group today announced the appointments of Mark Hardee as Chief Financial Officer, Melinda Sych as President of Sylmar Water Treatment, and Kevin Donaldson as Chief Operating Officer of Sylmar Water Treatment.

The appointments follow Sylmar’s recent acquisition of Tower Water, the company’s largest acquisition to date, and represent the next deliberate step in Sylmar’s growth strategy: building the leadership, systems, and operational infrastructure required to scale regional water businesses into a national platform.

Since its first acquisition in 2021, Sylmar has grown to eight brands serving customers in more than 30 states across industrial, commercial, and municipal water markets. That growth has been built on a consistent model: acquire owner-operated businesses with deep customer relationships and local expertise; invest in growing their teams and capabilities; and preserve what made them successful.

Sylmar is now making additional investments in shared systems, commercial infrastructure, and platform leadership to help its regional teams reach their full potential as part of a larger, connected enterprise.

“From the beginning, Sylmar’s goal has been to combine patient capital and water expertise to build a great business focused on solving customers’ greatest water challenges,” said Peter Brooks, CEO and Co-Founder of Sylmar Group. “Mark, Mel, and Kevin are a dream team of servant-leaders who will help us scale our customer-focused, people-first strategy. Each brings an exceptional track record of deploying innovative technologies, solving customer problems, and building for the long term.”

Mark Hardee, Chief Financial Officer, Sylmar Group

Mark Hardee joins Sylmar from Xylem, where he spent nine years as Segment CFO across businesses with more than $5 billion in combined revenue, including Water Solutions and Services, Water Infrastructure, and Measurement and Control Solutions He has led M&A financial diligence, multi-entity integration, and segment financial operations at a scale few water industry finance executives have experienced from the inside. At Sylmar, Mark will lead the development of the financial infrastructure, reporting discipline, and capital allocation framework required to support a growing, multi-entity water enterprise.

Melinda Sych, President, Sylmar Water Treatment

Melinda (Mel) Sych began her career on the plant floor as a process and quality engineer before moving into technical sales and senior commercial leadership roles at Dow, Suterra, Tektronix, and Battelle. As President of Sylmar Water Treatment, Mel brings the scientific foundation and commercial operating experience needed to lead a platform where technical excellence and customer outcomes must work together. Her partnership with Sylmar’s leadership team spans multiple companies and more than a decade of shared operating history.

Kevin Donaldson, Chief Operating Officer, Sylmar Water Treatment

Kevin Donaldson has held senior leadership roles across finance, technology, product, operations, sales, and marketing in businesses spanning ag-biotech, global consumer brands, industrial manufacturing, and SaaS. At Sylmar Water Treatment, Kevin will lead the operating systems, processes, and commercial infrastructure required to help a decentralized network of regional water businesses perform as a coordinated platform.

About Sylmar

Sylmar is a water company built to last. Through two divisions — Sylmar Water Treatment, focused on industrial water treatment, and Sylmar Utilities Group, focused on utility and municipal well and pump services — Sylmar serves data centers, manufacturers, healthcare systems, food and beverage producers, water utilities, and municipalities across the United States. Sylmar’s local teams, backed by a national platform, provide an unparalleled customer service experience across the country. For more information, visit www.sylmargrp.com.