President
Don is Hydra-Slide’s President and Co-Founder. After a four-decade-long career in the heavy rigging and transportation industry in which he held several executive roles, Don retired in 2005. Soon after, he and daughter Janine founded Hydra-Slide. He has since served in a key advisory role at the company, mostly supporting contractual, legal, financial, and accounting operations.
In conjunction with Hydra-Slide’s Operations team, Don is a key component in the development of Hydra-Slide products. His extensive experience in the industry offers an unmatched understanding of the challenges Hydra-Slide’s customers face and the technical expertise to engineer uniquely functional solutions.
Don graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1977 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering but is quick to point to his time on the job site among his skilled peers as a major factor in the breadth of his knowledge. He is especially passionate about improving safety and efficiency.
When he is not involved in Hydra-Slide work, Don loves surrounding himself with machines of all types, from airplanes to hovercrafts. Nothing makes him happier than escaping Canadian winters at his home in Mexico.
CEO
Vice President
As Co-Founder of Hydra-Slide in 2011, Janine had the rare opportunity to grow a company from the ground up, and all along she’s been instrumental in Hydra-Slide’s explosive growth. As CEO, Janine’s primary focus is on growing and supporting the Hydra-Slide team.
Whether developing strategic partnerships with Hydra-Slide’s suppliers, reps, and distributors or spearheading brand identity projects, Janine is committed to the company’s growth—especially its expansion into international markets. To that end, much of her work focuses on streamlining Hydra-Slide’s operations and workflow and representing the company internationally. Her enthusiasm and positivity are infectious around the office.
Janine holds a B.A. with Honours in Criminology from Carleton University, Ottawa. She’s a lifelong learner and continues to expand her professional and personal knowledge with courses in business, spirituality, and art history.
Outside of her work at Hydra-Slide, Janine loves hanging with her animal menagerie, cooking, and developing her artistic skills in sacred geometry. She is passionate about animal welfare and social justice and truly believes we should be the change we want to see in the world.
Director of Operations
As Hydra-Slide’s Director of Operations, Robert is a dynamic and important member of the Hydra-Slide team. He oversees equipment production; quality assurance and quality control processes; 3D modelling and drawing; troubleshooting; and training.
Hard-working and dedicated, Robert is notorious among Hydra-Slide’s customers as both highly knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. He often utilizes his computer modelling and graphics skills, and is especially interested in the hydraulics side of the business.
Robert began working at Hydra-Slide in 2014, laser-etching equipment nameplates, and has been Director of Operations since 2015. He’s passionate about the company’s global growth.
Robert holds a B.AS. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. Outside of work, he loves spending time gardening and cooking. His personal motto: keep going forward.
ENGINEER IN TRAINING
Brian is Hydra-Slide’s Engineer in Training and has been an impactful member of the Operations and Product teams since joining the company in early 2020. He participates in a variety of functions essential to the success of Hydra-Slide, including production, design, maintenance, and shipping of all Hydra-Slide systems.
Brian is known for his attention to detail and persistence, working tirelessly to help ensure that system production and design is optimized for high performance. He is committed to ensuring all elements of production are as outstanding as the designs themselves.
After earning his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ottawa, Brian embarked on a professional career that would satisfy his passion for hydraulics and design engineering while allowing him to grow and develop into a world-class engineer. He believes success is earned, not given—and works hard to always keep achieving it.
When he’s not working, Brian is a music enthusiast and says he is almost always listening to something.
Office Administrator
Krista is Hydra-Slide’s Office Administrator and is the force who keeps things running smoothly. She is responsible for leading or supporting bookkeeping, inventory control, human resources, and health and safety initiatives.
Using her exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, Krista has continued to enhance her skill set and take on increasing responsibility at Hydra-Slide. She’s known around the office for being super helpful and friendly, with a mind like a steel trap!
Krista studied Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources / Advanced Applications at triOS College. She hopes to focus on furthering her accounting knowledge with coursework in the near future.
Outside of work, Krista is happiest when spending time with her kids.
content designer & numbersmith
Devin is Hydra-Slide’s Content Designer & Numbersmith—a cross-functional role that keeps him busy and excited about coming to work every day. He is primarily responsible for wrangling all of Hydra-Slide’s media and written materials. Typical projects he takes on include video creation, form and spreadsheet development and management, procedure establishment/writing, and keeping Hydra-Slide’s technical documentation and manuals up to date with industry requirements.
As a key member of a small team, Devin is happy to be able to contribute whichever of his broad range of skills and experiences are needed at any given moment. His flexibility is a true asset to the Hydra-Slide team.
Devin holds an M.Sc. in Neuroscience and an M.Sc. in Chemistry. He thinks of his background as a mosaic, with experiences that range from academia in lab chemistry to the hands-on, such as small-scale farming. He joined the Hydra-Slide team in 2017, after a serendipitous visit with his sister and company VP Janine led to his participation on several projects.
Outside of work, Devin loves working on his improv comedy skills and uses that passion to help him find the humour in every situation. He’s also passionate about mental health awareness and destigmatization.
