A 30-plus year veteran of the swimming pool design and construction industry, Mike Higgins started out in the pool industry during his high school years and has since climbed the corporate ladder to sales and business management positions, which he currently holds. Sales manager by title, Mike oversees the sales team, but he also assists the executive team with overarching business development and other management needs. Mike’s first job in the pool industry at the age of 16 was for Schaumburg, IL.-based C.P.C. Swimming Pool Equipment, a franchisor of fiberglass pool walls and accessories with nationwide distribution. Starting out in the warehouse, Higgins moved up the ranks to warehouse manager and purchasing manager by the time he left almost a decade later. In 1986, he joined Aqua-Gon Inc. in Naperville, a wholesale distributor of swimming pool and spa equipment where he rose the ranks to sales manager in the mid 1990s, overseeing a sales team of 4 to 5 people. During this time, he developed a strong relationship with Poolcare Aquatech, the predecessor to Platinum Poolcare Acquatech Ltd., where he was recruited in 2006 as sales director for the company’s entire sales staff and span of accounts. Mike has also worked closely with Roger Sullivan, the director of business development, to help expand the company’s business throughout the Chicagoland area and elsewhere in the Midwest. He has handled every stage of pool design and construction, from sales leads to bidding, construction planning and implementation, project management, document/permit collection and liaison work with other vendors such as landscape architects, builders, plumbers, electricians and others. A customer service-oriented professional at heart, Mike excels at listening to his customers’ needs and goals and working with other team members to bring to life the beautiful backyard of their dreams.Specialties: Residential, custom swimming pool design, construction, renovation and maintenance; luxury waterscape design; liaison with landscape artists and other builders of outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, patios and decks.