The IAPMO Group is pleased to announce the hiring of Thomas Palkon as senior vice president of Water Systems.

Palkon brings to IAPMO 18 years of hands-on experience — all with the Lisle, Ill.,-based Water Quality Association (WQA) — in strategic development and implementation, program/process design and development, and business operations within the water treatment industry. As vice president and chief operations officer of WQA since 2012, Palkon provided oversight and direction to all phases of the association's operations, including sales/marketing, product certification, laboratory testing, facility inspections, and professional certification.

He spent the previous 10 years as WQA's director of Product Certification, overseeing service to more than 400 companies and thousands of certified products. He began his work at WQA as a laboratory chemist before promotions to laboratory supervisor and ultimately director.

"I'm very excited to begin this new role for The IAPMO Group and to continue working with the water industry; the industry I've gotten to know so well the past 18 years," Palkon said.

A bachelor of science in biology graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Palkon received his master of business administration from Keller Graduate School of Management, Chicago, graduating with distinction. He was recently named by Water Conditioning & Purification magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in the water treatment industry.

"Thomas' considerable experience and industry knowledge will no doubt go a long way toward the expansion of IAPMO's services in the areas of water filtration and treatment," said GP Russ Chaney, CEO of The IAPMO Group. "We are extremely excited to bring him on board to lead these efforts."