Vice President of Business Development
[singlepic id=1430 w=320 h=240 float=left]Samuel O. Goldwater recently joined Protection Development, Inc. as Vice President of Business Development, in additional to his duties as Vice President of the parent company, the Bob Andrews Group. Sam comes to PDI and the Bob Andrews Group with some 40 years of experience in fire protection ranging from combat line officer, to senior management positions in some of the highest profile companies in fire protection.Goldwater began his fire service career in Maryland where he served as a Lieutenant on one of the busiest heavy rescue units in the U.S. and where he achieved the rank of Assistant Fire Marshal. He has 11 years of EMS experience. Sam finished out his fire combat career as a Division Chief with NorthTree Fire International, one of the nation’s largest emergency response contractors, where during hurricanes Katrina and Rita he served as an Area Commander with units in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and surrounding areas. Also during Katrina and Rita, Sam was responsible for the logistical components for the Union Pacific and the Norfolk and Southern Railroads.
After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1977, Mr. Goldwater took a position with the Chesapeake Publishing Corporation, a division of Whitney Communications, where he worked in Corporate Advertising , dealing with major retail corporations such as Sears, J.C. Penny, and Allied Markets. He received an award from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association for Advertising Design.
In 1981, Sam combined his fire protection and marketing backgrounds by taking a position as the first Marketing Manager for the International Fire Service Training Association on the campus of Oklahoma State University. While on staff, Goldwater was editor of the most widely distributed fire protection newsletter in the world, Speaking of Fire. In addition to IFSTA, while working for the University, Goldwater worked for Oklahoma State Fire Service Training where he taught fire protection programs to fire departments throughout the State. Programs developed by Goldwater are still being used today.
In 1988, Goldwater was recruited by Angus Fire Armour as their National Sales Manager where he merged U.S. and Canadian operations into Angus North America. He was promoted to North American Sales Manager. While with Angus, Sam developed the large diameter hose program used by the San Francisco Fire Department during the “World Series Earthquake”. By the time Sam left in 2000 Angus had been purchased by Kidde Corp and sales included 11 fire protection companies including National Foam, Imperial Fire Hose, Powhatan Brass, Wort Knox, Angus Fire Hose, Angus Foam & Systems, National Trucks, Flexible Pipelines, Pyrene, Flexline Hose, and Feecon Systems.
In 2000 Goldwater developed a business plan for NorthTree Fire International, one of the largest Federal Response Contractors; he was recruited to execute that plan as a member of the NTFI senior staff. Operations doubled for each of the first two years and grew each successive year through 2007 while opening new markets in the Railroad and Utility Industries, the Pipeline and Power Industries, and the Federal/Military Sector. In addition to his Business Development Responsibilities, Goldwater was also an operational Division Chief and responded to many large high profile incidents including hurricanes Katrina and Rita and several major rail incidents.
In 2008, Sam Goldwater was recruited by ADS Tactical, the largest supplier of tactical equipment to the U.S. Military, to be part of the senior management team, and to head up their Fire and Emergency Services Business Unit. In 24 months, Goldwater grew the FES business segment to one of the largest in the industry. In 2010, ADS was awarded a $23M Contract with Army TACOM for Firefighter PPE based on Sam’s specifications. The ADS business plan included Technical Sales Reps supporting an inside and outside sales team, an industry leading catalog, trade shows, contract development, and niche market sales. All led by Sam
Sam Goldwater’s career has spanned forty years, four time zones, and he has developed a track record of successful business development in multiple markets. Goldwater has a unique combination of technical expertise, emergency operations, industry knowledge, and business savvy. He has experience as an end user, a trainer, a distributor, and as a manufacturer. He has consulted with some of the best companies in the fire industry. Goldwater’s track record speaks for itself and he is the perfect person to help lead PDI and the Bob Andrews Group of companies into the future.
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