Vortex is driven to provide cost-effective, environmentally friendly infrastructure renewal.
Vortex Companies leadership is strictly dedicated to providing proven, trenchless infrastructure solutions to improve the quality of our water and wastewater infrastructure.
The Vortex Companies is guided by an experienced leadership team that continues to provide innovative products and services to municipal, industrial and commercial markets.
As President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike’s primary focus is fulfilling the corporate mission and ensuring Vortex delivers on its promise of delivering the broadest range of service solutions and proven products to customers around the globe. Since the company’s founding in 2015, Mike has strategically guided its growth and maturity in the highly competitive Trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation. From its highly experienced and customer-focused services division to the cutting edge products and technologies divisions, Vortex is a leader in providing an end-to-end solution to its customers.
Formerly, Mike was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for one of the largest privately held trenchless underground contractors in North America. His primary responsibilities included overseeing sales, marketing, and product development functions for all business entities. He was also in charge of forging strategic business alliances as part of the company’s vision of providing the widest selection of environmentally friendly, trenchless underground repair solutions to its customers. During his five-year tenure, Mike used his vision and leadership to help measurably grow the company’s revenue.
From 2001 to 2009, Mike worked for Albany, New York-based Vellano Brothers, where he rose from the ranks from local Branch Manager to Vice President. During his tenure there, he helped streamline operations, grow accounts, and increase sales exponentially. Mike resides in Houston, Texas, along with his wife Lettie, and two daughters.
Matthew Samford is the Vortex Companies Chief Financial Officer and oversees the corporate financial, accounting and human resources teams charged with managing the company’s day-to-day fiscal operations. Matthew has 18 years of professional accounting and finance experience and prior to joining the Vortex Companies, he served in various leadership positions after leaving Deloitte as an audit manager. In 2016, Matthew joined Vortex as its corporate controller. His construction and Big 4 accounting background quickly proved to be tremendous asset and he was quickly promoted to EVP of Finance, before his eventual promotion to CFO.
A graduate of Texas A&M University’s, Mays Business School, Matthew holds both a bachelor’s in accounting and master’s in finance. He has been a licensed CPA in the state of Texas since 2005 and lives in The Woodlands, Texas, with his wife and three daughters.
As Chief Operating Officer, Wes is focused on syncing Vortex’s Products and Services divisions for greater cross-company efficiency. Wes is a proven leader with a history of delivering innovative customer solutions. With the company’s unique product and service contracting platform, Wes works closely with both divisions to optimize internal partnering, cross-selling, and improved customer and technical support.
As a former contractor, Wes understands Vortex customer needs and demands for proven solutions, reliable equipment and capable field support. In 2003 when Wes was hired as Vice President for Tampa-based Comanco Environmental Corp. During his time with the company, he streamlined automated equipment control systems and eliminated outside repairs and maintenance.
In 2006, Wes and two other partners started VacVision Environmental and began focusing on CCTV cleaning, inspection, and CIPP lining. Over the next decade, his vision and direction helped fuel consistent company growth by focusing on innovation and client needs. In 2017, VacVision was acquired by the Vortex Companies where his impact has helped the services division experience record growth each year since. Wes, and his wife Gena, live in Greenville, South Carolina, with their four children.
As Chief Commercial Officer, Dave is a 30-year veteran of the trenchless technology industry leads Vortex’s long-term commercial and expansion strategy for the products division. Working closely with the management team to assist in the identification and future development of strategic partnerships and potential acquisitions, Dave fills a vital role in the ongoing commercialization and expansion of the Vortex product line.
Prior to joining Vortex, Dave directed sales and all business development for Applied Felts and MaxLiner USA, both worldwide leaders in Cured-In-Place Pipe liners and resins. Widely known and respected in the industry, his global industry knowledge, salesmanship, and negotiation skills are integral to Vortex’s long-term growth in key, strategic market segments. Dave and his wife Maura reside in Newtown, Connecticut, and are the parents of four children.
Matt’s primary responsibility as the company’s Senior Vice President of Shared Services is to work with both products and service divisions to become more efficient and transparent to ensure they able to capitalize on, and share, internal equipment, materials and knowledge more efficiently across the company. The end-goal is to streamline processes and level out resources to be more responsive to the company’s customers. Matt works closely with the executive management team to create an environment that broadens the company’s middle management and sales personnel decision-making authority to keep processes moving forward and products going out the door.
A 25-year veteran of the underground utility industry, Matt is a third generation member of the family- owned Ted Berry Company Inc., where he served as its president until its acquisition by the Vortex Companies in 2019.
Over the course of his career, several industry associations have recognized Matt for his contributions to the advancement of trenchless solutions and underground utility repair. These include: the Northeast Trenchless Association Founders Award, the Maine Waste Water Control Association Presidents Award, the Maine Water Environment Association Communications Award, and the Maine Water Utilities Association with its Jim Doherty Award. Matt currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife Christine, and five children.
As Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Analytics, Ram is tasked with for the Vortex Companies, Ram is the company’s top technology executive. In this role, he spearheads all aspects of technology to create and drive scalable solutions through technology, innovation and data analytics. As Vortex looks to elevate its strategy around digitization and technological advancement to deepen engagement both internally and externally, he sits at the forefront of these initiatives. Additionally, Ram collaborates with cross-functional business leaders to create a vision for how technology can serve as a competitive differentiator for Vortex.
Prior to the Vortex Companies, Ram owned and managed a small business consulting firm based in Annapolis, MD, Vela Associates LLC. The company targeted clients that were pre-revenue or early in their revenue generation and aided in key areas such as implementing business development strategies, marketing & advertising and private capital fundraising. Prior to that Ram was a Senior Analyst at Greenspring Associates, a full-service provider of venture capital solutions.
Ram is a 2010 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Economics. While there, Ram was also a standout varsity football player and Distinguished Graduate Award recipient. Ram lives in Houston with his wife Jenny, and two children.
As Managing Director of Vortex Europe , Quin oversees the day-to-day and long-term growth strategy as Vortex continues to expand its products and services businesses throughout Europe. Prior to this role, Quin was the company’s General Counsel and head of acquisitions. Formerly a shareholder with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, he has extensive experience in entity formation and management, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, lending/finance, and construction law. He has represented publicly traded and privately held corporations in complex merger, stock and asset purchase transactions, corporate financing arrangements, distribution and supply agreements, and other transactional matters.
Quin received his Bachelor of Science in Management (double-major in Finance and Management) magna cum laude from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business, and his Juris Doctor cum laude from Tulane University Law School. Quin resides in New Orleans, Munich, Germany, with his wife, Martha Claire, and their two daughters.
As Senior Vice President of Services, Ryan oversees all responsibilities related to managing the planning and personnel driving the sales growth of Vortex’s extensive line of trenchless products and services. Behind Ryan is a team highly motivated and experienced professionals that include business development, sales operations and product managers located in strategic regions of the US. Through this team, Ryan implements critical sales processes to support company growth. Ryan also oversees Vortex’s strategic partnerships across the country, where he helps promote and expand sales through these channels.
With more than a decade of experience in the trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation and water/wastewater industries, Ryan began his career working for one of the largest privately held trenchless underground contractors in the United States. Since joining Vortex at its inception, Ryan has held various roles across the company. Ryan currently resides in Houston, Texas, with his wife Jessica and their two children, Jack and Taylor.
In many ways Johnathan’s current role as Vice President of Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE), hasn’t changed much since his Armed service days. That is to keep us safe. A former Marine Corps Sergeant, who also served in the Army National Guard, Johnathan has15+ years of industrial safety experience.
During his time here, Johnathan has established a best-in-class HSE department while building a culture of safety from the ground up. His primary role is to continue to evolve the safety program and lead his safety team, located through the country, in the implementation of health, safety, and environmental programs for Vortex Companies’ fleet, facilities, and field crews.
Johnathan also serves as an on-demand resource and subject matter expert in matters relating to health, safety, and environmental concerns as well as industrial hygiene practices.
Brooke Malone, Director of Human Resources oversees the ongoing development and implementation of the company’s HR functions, strategy, and implementation enterprise wide.
Since joining in 2019, Brooke has built an HR foundation to support of Vortex’s aggressive growth strategy, drives strategies to source and retain talent, and has led its teams through unprecedented times. Brooke has over 17 years of talent management, system implementation, and policy and compliance experience in several different industries and companies of all sizes, including, Brinker International and National Oilwell/Varco.
Brooke earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) in affiliation with HRCI and SHRM. She lives in Houston with her husband of 14 years and their goldendoodle, Boodles.
As the Senior Vice President of Coatings and Rehab Materials, Matt oversees the development, formulation manufacturing of Vortex’s industry-leading polymeric and mortar materials used to repair and rehabilitate the most challenging water and wastewater. Matt began his career 20 years ago, working for his family’s business, Lusid Technologies, a manufacturer of industrial and automotive coatings and paints.
Matt then founded AFI Paint Supply in 2004 a distributor of industrial coating and paint products. In 2010, Matt started Stag Technologies a polymerics formulation, manufacturing and installation company. Acquired by Vortex in 2018, Stag Technologies was folded into the Company’s growing products division, where he stayed on as the VP/General Manager of the Polymerics group.
Matt’s ability to bring groundbreaking new materials to the market and commercialize them faster and more efficiently led him to his latest role at Vortex. Having introduced more than 100 infrastructure repair materials to date, Matt stands above the rest and demonstrates his value to each one of Vortex’s projects. Matt resides in Bluffdale, Utah, with his wife Brittany, and four children.
Pete serves as Vortex’s Senior Vice President of Technologies, where he oversees the company’s continued expansion of high-tech equipment solutions. This includes the company’s core line of Schwalm robotics and the more recent addition of CIPP curing monitoring systems and UV-CIPP curing technology. Pete’s in-depth knowledge of the practical application and sales of specialty technologies in the trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation space has been a tremendous asset to the company’s growth in the water and sewer technologies market.
Prior to joining Vortex in 2020, Pete worked for several industry leading sewer technology companies where he held positions of Regional Sales Manager, Lead field engineer. This ground-level experience, where he worked closed with contractors, gives him unique insight into their needs and expectations.
Pete is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and still maintains his midwestern. When not traveling, Pete resides in Chicago, Illinois.