Gene Smith, President of Hunter Industries’ Residential, Commercial, and Golf Irrigation and Lighting (RCGL) division, has announced his retirement effective March 31, 2023, after a distinguished career spanning more than two decades.
Smith joined Hunter Industries on January 3, 2000, as a senior mechanical engineer. In 2002, he transitioned into marketing, assuming the role of Product Manager for the spray and nozzle categories. He spent eight years in leadership positions on Hunter’s irrigation equipment project management and new product development teams. In 2010, he was promoted to Director of Marketing, overseeing Hunter’s marketing and logistics initiatives. Smith became Hunter’s first RCGL president in 2017 following a corporate restructuring, taking on the responsibility for Hunter’s RCGL sales and engineering efforts.
As an engineer, Smith was responsible for designing the ProSpray® Sprinkler Body line. In addition, he played a pivotal role in numerous product development efforts and acquisitions, most notably the MP Rotator® Nozzle, Hydrawise® Irrigation Management Platform, and Lumascape architectural and facade lighting brand.
During Smith’s tenure as RCGL president, revenue grew 75% with market expansion into 120 countries worldwide.
“Gene exemplifies the Hunter core values of Customer Satisfaction, Innovation, Family, and Social Responsibility. I have no doubt that several decades from now, people will continue to speak of him as a model leader at Hunter. Gene has true concern for our customers, the employees, and Hunter Industries as a company, for which I will be forever grateful,” said CEO Greg Hunter.
Hunter Industries has selected Denise Mullikin, a 25-year Hunter veteran, as the next president of the RCGL division. Mullikin previously served as Vice President, Global Sales. In that role, she led domestic and international sales teams in multiple countries around the world, along with Hunter’s Global Sales Operations, Global Sales Support, and Domestic Customer Service teams.
