Sam K. Freshman, President & Chairman
Samuel K. Freshman founded Standard Management in 1961. Since Standard’s Management’s formation, Mr. Freshman’s responsibilities have included SM’s investment strategy, business development and negotiations. Mr. Freshman is a principal of all entities established by Standard and is responsible for their oversight. During his career, Mr. Freshman has been responsible for the acquisition, development and management of approximately $500 million of real property in 11 states and more than 25 cities. Prior to his decision in 1983 to devote the majority of his time to Standard, Mr. Freshman founded and was the managing partner of the law firm of Freshman, Marantz, Orlanski, Cooper & Klein, known today as G&l Gates. As a lawyer, Mr. Freshman specialized in real estate matters and real estate syndication. Prior to forming Freshman, Marantz, Orlanski, Cooper & Klein, Mr. Freshman was General Counsel of Jacob Sterns & Sons, a real estate investment company. Mr. Freshman is an acknowledged expert on real estate investment and has served as Adjunct Professor of Real Estate at the University of Southern California Graduate School of Business, and as an expert witness in over 50 cases. Mr. Freshman has also been the author of many articles on real estate syndication. Mr. Freshman received his Bachelor of Arts in pre-legal curriculum and his law degree from Stanford University.
Mark W. Wakefield, Vice President
A 1980 graduate of Ohio State University in business and marketing, Mark has over thirty five years of sales, marketing and senior level management experience in the water treatment industry. He has successfully created and implemented effective management programs for the sales, marketing and development of water treatment products in multiple markets throughout the US and abroad. Mark has held management positions in several of the country’s leading water treatment companies Including: General Manager of Consumer Water Products, Ionics Incorporated, Watertown Mass., (Managed corporate retail offices and worldwide manufacturing – $32M in P&L responsibility), Co-founder and Director of Sales & Marketing, Water Factory Systems Irvine Ca, Vice President of Operations and General Manager, SWI Incorporated (General Electric Smart Water Program Development).
Joyce Takeda, Director of Operations
Joyce has been in the water treatment industry since 1996. Currently managing the Service and Installation Department, she has held several positions previously with Water by Design, Inc. including Accounting Manager and Manager of Operations. Joyce provides complete support to the technicians, installers, customer service team, production homebuilders, custom homebuilders as well as the on-site superintendents. Joyce is past President and currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Water Quality Association and carries the companies C-55 Water Treatment Contractor’s license.
Lily Simpson, Service Operations Manager
Prior to joining Water Techniques in 2001, Lily spent 4 years managing Lady Foot Locker locations. There Lily managed poor to medium performing stores into top 3% performers in sales and service. Learning the water industry from all aspects has made Lily a tremendous asset to the Water Techniques family. Lily is now primarily responsible for managing the Water Techniques inside service staff. Her responsibilities also include service program implementation, service call scheduling and technician route design for our companies more than 5,000 customers, all to insure the very best in customer service and satisfaction.