THE HKD FAMILY
Charles is a co-founder of HKD. He leads the organization and participates in sales, R & D, and manufacturing. He's an alumnus of St. Lawrence University and has his MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth. He loves sports, enjoys the outdoors, and is a proud father of four. Ask Charles about how to build a tree house or backyard rink.
Charles Santry
PRESIDENT
Ian is an original member of HKD and had the pleasure of climbing creosote poles back when they were used to support the first HKD towers. IOR, as we call him, graduated from St. Lawrence and received his MBA from Clarkson. He oversees sales and marketing. When away from HKD, IOR is a family man and can be found on the sidelines coaching youth soccer and lacrosse.
Ian Jarrett
VICE PRESIDENT
Anni keeps the family at HKD in check. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in History and Economics. Prior to starting HKD, she owned and operated several retail stores in Faneuil Hall, Boston and Hanover, NH. Anni and her husband Charles have three boys and a girl. She loves to read and ride horses, but not at the same time.
Anni Dupré Santry
VP Finance
Charles oversees the HKD factory in Quebec, as well as, project planning, construction management, and international sales. He has an engineering degree from Laval University and a master's degree in environmental engineering from Sherbrooke University. Away from HKD you'll find Charles cycling, skiing or kite surfing.
Charles Lavoie
Vice President
JP is in charge of production and quality control at our Quebec factory, including material sourcing, purchasing, and logistics. JP keeps the gears of our factory turning. He has a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Laval University, is the father of four, an accomplished carpenter, and enjoys time on the snow with his family.
Jean-Philippe Lacasse
VP Operations
Michaël joined the HKD Team in 2014 as project manager in engineering, R&D and construction. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from École de technologie supérieure (ETS). He has previously been involved at many levels in various industrial projects. He enjoys skiing, playing hockey and having good times with his family.
Michaël Lachance
VP Engineering
Clermont has worked with the company since 1988. He holds a Certificate in Administration from Laval University. He is responsible for the financial operations of HKD Turbo in Quebec. When not at the plant, Clermont loves the outdoors and spends time with his family, particularly his 5 grandchildren.
Clermont Labrecque
Controller
Mark is responsible for KLIK automation, sales in the Northeast, and the HKD experience. He's a serial entrepreneur and survived (barely) the dotcom bubble as the co-founder of the action sports web site Fusion.com. When he's not thinking snow or skiing on it, Mark can be found enjoying Lake Champlain with his wife and two children.
Mark Horton
Sales and Marketing
Sophie joined the HKD team in 2014. She has a Bachelor's from St Lawrence, majored in Art History and French. Sophie grew up riding horses competitively and has been Nordic skiing since she could walk. Sophie works on all aspects of HKD marketing and is the conduit between HKD and the digital world.
Sophie Allen
Marketing Manager
Rob, or Snow Bob as he's known, joined HKD in 1995. Rob began his snowmaking career in the 1970s at Hunter Mountain, NY and was on the snowmaking crew responsible for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid. Forget about Kevin Bacon; it should be Six Degrees of Rob Stott.
Robert Stott
Western Sales & Tech Support
Phil is a master electrician and technology fanatic at heart. He's also a former police officer. Relax snowmakers; he's retired. Phil is responsible for service and tech support in the West and he manages the HKD Parts Department. Phil and his wife, Brooke, have 4 young boys who keep them hopping.
Phil Van Why
Western Sales & Tech Support
Ben joined HKD in 2015. Prior to joining HKD, Ben worked six years with Techno Alpin, focusing on snowmaking automation and fan and tower gun technical support. Ben has skied since the age of 3 and is a committed and passionate outdoor enthusiast. On occasion he can be found at “Thirsty Thursdays” in Park City, discussing the various details of snowmaking strategy.
Ben Siefert
Western Sales & Tech Support
Scott joined HKD in 2013. He spent seven years as the Snowmaking & Slopes Manager at Wintergreen Resort, VA. Scott joined the vendor side in 2011 and has had a continued focus on automation ever since. When he isn't working on the mountain, he spends time with his wife and two children in Virginia, and builds furniture from scratch.
Scott Gunnell
Southeast Sales & Tech Support
Most of us mowed lawns as a teen but not Nate. He was running a snowcat at Wachusett Mountain. He later jumped to snowmaking and hasn't looked back. Nate joined HKD in 2017, after gaining experience in all aspects of Low-E snowmaking. He rips on a bike and skis, and relishes his time in the Green Mountains with his wife and 2 daughters.
Nate Ringquist
Northeast Sales & Tech Support
Martin has been immersed in the ski business since 1977. In 1991, he started EMP, a snowmaking distributor that sold and serviced HKD products. After the merger between HKD and Turbocristal, Martin joined team HKD Turbo to manage all sales efforts in Quebec. He's a menace on the racetrack, whether on a super bike or go-kart.
Martin Parent
Sales Manager, Quebec
Fan central module, Impulse head, SV10, Klik hydrant, S-valve... you name it, Frank can build it all. He is one of our assembly gurus and keeps a close eye on the quality of HKD snowmaking products.
François Lepage
Maritimes Sales & Tech Support
Guillaume is a graduate in accounting and management. He has 10 years of experience in real estate accounting, catering and manufacturing. He is curious and versatile. In his spare time, you can find Guillaume at old car shows where he exhibits his own car.
Guillaume Simard
Assistant Controller
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, R&D and Manufacturing Team
Max joined our team in June 2018 after more than 10 years in the marine automation business. Striving for a new challenge, he discovers that snow is the new water!! Max's addition to our team is another step forward for HKD in becoming the snowmaking automation leader. He likes to spend time with his family, making maple syrup and whisky tasting.
Maxime Béliveau
Project Manager – Automation
Mat graduated as a mechanics technician with 15 years of experience in manufacturing. He joined the team in 2012. His concern for the details and product quality makes him an excellent asset for our assembly team.
Mathieu Tremblay
Production Foreman
AP is in charge of new products development and system integration for HKD since 2018. He has a Mechanical Engineering Degree from "École de Technologies Supérieure (ETS)" He is passionate by nature, mechanic and motorcycles. When he isn't working at the factory, you can find him shredding the backcountry on skis or mountain bike.
Andre-Pierre Cloutier
Special Project Manager
Always looking for ‘The deal’ Nicolas joined the team in 2018 as a buyer. He graduated from Laval University in engineering and has been a member of the l’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec since 2003. Nicolas likes to keep an eye on the global economy as well as financial and stock markets. He loves movies, music, sports and cars in his spare time.
Nicolas Bédard
Engineer
Mathieu is a technician in mechanical engineering. He is a designer supervised by Joel for research and development of new products. When he is not drafting or testing new product, he is playing music in his band or training for a karate competition.
Mathieu Hébert
Mechanical Designer
Joël is based in Quebec and is our mechanical designer. He handles the mechanical drawing needs for production as well as our R & D initiatives. He also supervises snowmaking installations. He likes to snowboard and mountain bike with his family.
Joël Cloutier
Mechanical Designer
Doudou is an automation and electrical technician. He joined the team in July 2019. He has an Electrical Engineering degree from University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR). He manages electrical drawings for the production as well as new R & D projects in automation. He’s passionate about soccer and he spends his free time playing football or watching a good soccer game.
Doudou Ndong
Automation and Electrical Technician
Max oversees the HKD Module department, product assembly quality and the Parts/Service departement at our Quebec factory. He's also our in-house video and Photoshop guru. When not spending time with his 3 kids, Max is surely engaged in some activity involving high speed.
Max Duplain
Mechanical Engineering Technician
Nicole handles day-to-day logistics at the Quebec Factory since 2004. She keeps the team well organized and on track. Ask Nicole's son what he would like to be and guess what he will answer - "A Snowmaker".
Nicole Bilodeau
Administrative Assistant
Clement joined the company in 1985. He is our living reference of all Turbo snowmaking products and always has a solution to critical problems in the plant or field. If you want to learn the real stuff on snowmaking, spend some après ski with Clement.
Clement Tremblay
Specialty welder and team leader
Daniel has been with us since 1992 and has assembled thousands of fan guns with our team of mechanics. A former ATV racer, Dan is speeding up the assembly process with perfect tuning of the HKD Turbo fans.
Daniel Fillion
Mechanic and assembly team leader
Jérôme is a talented artist working on all our aluminum and stainless steel welding needs. He has the "eyes of the tiger" tattooed all over his arms.
Jérôme Gagnon
Specialty welder
Raymond has been with HKD since 2014. He is a great addition to the assembly team. He enjoys music, the outdoors and is a Troop Leader for the Boy Scouts.
Raymond Lefebvre
Mechanical Assembly
Steve graduated with a degree in industrial engineering in 2001 and has worked in a variety of industries including forestry, textile and ammunition. Steve has been with HKD since 2014 and has been involved with all aspects of assembly for both the air / water equipment as well as fan guns. Steve is an avid skier and has coached alpine ski racing for 22 years at Le Relais Ski Club in Quebec.
Steve Mercier
Product Assembly
Simon is a skilled professional welder who joined the team in 2011. He is a happy guy who is always smiling. He is a positive source of motivation for all on the welding team.
Simon Carbonneau
Welder
Alain has been working on assembling HKD guns since the summer of 2019. He is passionate about snowmaking and has been working in the ski industry in Quebec since 2002. Alain is an avid mountain biker and alpine skier.
Alain Marchand
Air/Water Assembly
Robert has over 32 years of experience in welding and assembling. He’s been with HKD since 2015. He’s a hunter and a fisherman. He’s passionate about nature in all seasons.
Robert Lafond
Welding and Assembly
Kevin recieved his electrical diploma in 2011. Since then, he has developed knowledge about communication, alarm, security, control and home automation systems. Outside of work, he enjoys film, martial arts, music and hebertism. He is curious by nature.
Kevin Boucher
Product Assembly
Nahum is an electrical apprentice. He joined the HKD panel assembly team in 2019. When he's not working, you can find him on a soccer field.
Nahum Avila
Electrical Apprentice
Denis has worked with HKD since 2015 in tower assembly. He is customer oriented and cares about the quality of his work. He enjoys camping with his wife all summer long.
Denis Labrie
Air/Water Assembly
Jean Pinault is a mechanical engineer familiar with industrial processes, equipment design and market development. He is a recognized leader, designer and problem solver. In addition to various other jobs for major engineering firms, he founded and ran his own firm for 10 years. He was an associate owner of Turbocristal as VP Engineering and R & D for several years. Jean is VP of Development for the industrial division of HKD Snowmakers, HKD Blue.
Jean Pinault
Vice President of Development
Caroline is the Business Development Manager for the HKD Blue division. She has an engineering degree with a specialization in Environmental Studies from Sherbrooke University.
She is passionate about outdoor activities and is very involved with the well-being of her community. Her main priority is her family.
Caroline Schwab
Business Development Manager
Gordon joined the HKD team in 2017 for tech support, sales, and service. In warmer months, Gordon runs HKD Blue, a division of HKD that utilizes our snowmaking technology for environmental purposes. Gordon loves playing sports, and can usually be found watching the Patriots on Sundays with his boss.
Gordon Santry
Sales & Tech Support
Nelson is responsible for automation products and runs the HKD Silicon Valley office. He wants to give snowmaking teams the ability to make data driven decisions, and loves an intuitive dashboard. Ultimately, he wants to help resorts open sooner, for lower costs. Prior to joining HKD in 2019, Nelson worked for Tesla in the Fremont factory with the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Automation teams helping scale annual production.
Nelson Santry
iSno Product Manager
Lance has been in the snowmaking automation business for over 20 years and is responsible for the creation of the iSno “Matrix”. However, his existence has not been confirmed as few have seen him in person. He might be A.I or a consciousness from another dimension or maybe just a guy in Lyme, NH. Only those who take the "iSno pill" will know the truth…your choice.
Lance Anderson
iSno Controls System Manager
Erik joined HKD in 2018, as part of the iSno team based in Lyme, NH. Erik began with Snomatic in 2016, where he supports development of iSno software, controls and automation products. When he is not biking or skiing, Erik enjoys playing music and spending time with friends and family.