Dive Brief:
- Water treatment company Pentair named Fiserv and Honeywell veteran Bob Hau as its CFO and EVP effective Nov. 1, according to a Tuesday press release and securities filing.
- Pentair alum Bob Fishman, who assumed the interim CFO role in July — just five months after retiring from the company’s top finance seat — will step down from the interim position upon Hau’s appointment, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He will remain with the London-based company, which provides home pool and spa equipment as well as water treatment products, through the Nov. 1 effective date to ensure a smooth transition.
- Hau is a “proven leader with the strategic perspective, financial expertise and results-oriented approach to help Pentair drive performance and continue creating long-term shareholder value,” CEO and President John L. Stauch said in a statement included in the release.
Dive Insight:
The CFO shift comes just about two months after Fishman, who previously served a six-year span as Pentair’s top finance officer, returned to the water treatment business in the interim seat, CFO Dive reported at the time.
Fishman took over from his successor Nicholas Brazis, who departed the water treatment company after just five months, to take the CFO seat at cable and wire maker Southwire.
Brazis’ successor Hau previously logged a 10-year career at payments firm Fiserv Inc, serving as its CFO from March 2016 to October 2025, and as a senior advisor from November 2025 to March of this year, according to his LinkedIn profile. He previously served as CFO for technology company TE Connectivity, EVP and CFO for Lennox International, and as VP of finance, CFO, Aerospace for Honeywell.
Hau will receive an annual base salary of $775,000 and will be eligible for an annual cash bonus of 100% of his base pay, according to the filing. He will also receive an initial equity award of restricted stock units with a grant date value of $2.5 million, and a new hire cash bonus of $200,000, according to the filing.
The water treatment company is strengthening its finance bench, tapping a new CFO and recently appointing a new director to its audit and finance committee, as it seeks to navigate slumping sales and to close a pending $1.4 billion acquisition of Taco Group Holdings, an hydronic and water-based solutions provider.
The acquisition “significantly strengthens” the company’s positions in key high-growth markets, including HVAC, data centers, and related infrastructure builds, Stauch said during the company’s second quarter earnings call on July 28.
Stauch cited demand in these markets supported “by key secular trends, including infrastructure investment, digital infrastructure and the AI revolution, energy efficiency and sustainable water management.”
“Our increased exposure in these areas will allow us to create an attractive diversified growth engine and enhance our resilience,” he said, according to a transcript.
The company on Sept. 1 announced it had entered into a credit agreement with its subsidiary and primary financing arm, Pentair Finance, which provided a $400 million senior unsecured tranche 1 term loan facility and a $1 billion senior unsecured tranche 2 term loan facility to fund the acquisition, according to an SEC filing.
Pentair expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to a July 28 press release.
The business is finalizing the acquisition at the same time as it moves to destock inventory in its pool segment and marshals plans for the 2027 pool season, according to its earnings release. Sales for the quarter ended June 30 slumped by 17% year-over-year to $933 million, driven by the $170 million impact associated with its pool inventory destocking efforts, according to its earnings release.
However, Pentair is “confident this is a temporary channel reset rather than a change in the underlying long-term opportunity for the business,” Stauch said in a statement included in the release, pointing to continued strong performance in other business segments. The company is “taking swift actions to improve execution, enhance inventory visibility and support healthier order patterns, positioning our Pool business to deliver robust growth in 2027,” he said.
