Latham Group Appoints Sean Gadd as Chief Executive Officer
Rhea-AI Summary
Latham Group (Nasdaq: SWIM) announced that Sean Gadd will become President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 5, 2026 following a Board-led succession process.
Mr. Gadd joins from James Hardie after a 21-year tenure, most recently serving as President of North America since 2022 with full P&L responsibility. Current CEO Scott Rajeski, who led Latham since 2017 and served more than 8 years as CEO, will retire and remain as a special advisor while resigning his Board seat. The Board highlighted continuity and Gadd’s commercial and branding experience to support further conversion to fiberglass pools and growth in Sand State markets. The company noted it entered the public markets in April 2021 and described its financial position as strong.
Positive
- CEO transition effective Jan 5, 2026 provides clear timeline
- New CEO with 21 years of building-products experience
- Gadd had full P&L responsibility as James Hardie President of North America since 2022
- Board-led succession indicates planned leadership continuity
Negative
- Departure of CEO with > 8 years tenure may reduce institutional continuity
- Concurrent Board seat resignation creates immediate board composition change
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, SWIM gained 0.99%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction. Argus tracked a trough of -6.2% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 18 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. This price movement added approximately $8M to the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $793M at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
SWIM was down 0.84% while key peers like APOG, NX, JELD, and JBI showed gains between 0.38% and 1.49%, with only LMB down 1.88%, pointing to a stock-specific move rather than a sector-wide reaction.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 05 | Conference participation | Neutral | -5.0% | Management attendance at Baird 2025 Global Industrial Conference. |
| Nov 04 | Earnings release | Positive | -1.0% | Q3 2025 results with higher sales, margins, and narrowed guidance. |
| Oct 07 | Earnings scheduling | Neutral | +3.8% | Announcement of Q3 2025 earnings release and conference call date. |
| Aug 19 | Corporate recognition | Positive | +1.0% | Named to Newsweek’s inaugural list of America’s Greatest Companies 2025. |
| Aug 06 | Conference participation | Neutral | -0.4% | Planned participation in two August 2025 investor conferences. |
Recent positive fundamental and recognition news often saw limited or even negative next-day price moves, suggesting tempered investor expectations.
Over the last few months, Latham reported stronger Q3 2025 results with $161.9M in net sales and higher margins, yet the stock slipped modestly the next day. Conference participation announcements in August and November 2025 produced mixed but generally small moves. A Newsweek accolade as one of “America’s Greatest Companies” saw a mild positive reaction. Against this backdrop of solid fundamentals but cautious trading, today’s CEO transition marks a leadership shift following the period in which the company went public and delivered substantial growth.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement outlines a planned CEO transition effective January 5, 2026, bringing in Sean Gadd after a 21-year career at James Hardie, where he held senior commercial roles. The board emphasizes continuity through succession planning and highlights prior progress under Scott Rajeski, including the April 2021 IPO and subsequent growth. Investors may focus on Gadd’s experience in driving material conversion and market penetration, and track how his strategy builds on Latham’s existing fiberglass and Sand State initiatives.
Key Terms
p&l financial
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
- Latham’s Board of Directors has appointed Sean Gadd as President and CEO following a comprehensive succession planning process
- Mr. Gadd joins following a 21-year career at James Hardie, where he most recently served as President of North America
- Scott Rajeski has decided to retire after more than 8 years as CEO and will serve as a special advisor to the company
LATHAM, N.Y., Dec. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Latham Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWIM), the largest designer, manufacturer, and marketer of in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, appoints Sean Gadd as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer as part of a CEO transition that will take effect on January 5, 2026. The appointment follows a comprehensive search as part of a succession planning process led by the Board and current CEO Scott Rajeski, who will be retiring from Latham and will serve as a special advisor to the company.
Sean Gadd comes to Latham following a 21-year career at James Hardie. He most recently served as President of North America since 2022, where he has had full P&L responsibility for James Hardie’s largest regional business. Prior to his role as President of North America, Sean served as Executive Vice President, North America, Commercial (2018-2022) and Executive Vice President, Markets and Segments, North America (2015-2018) at James Hardie, leading the front end of the business across product, marketing, and sales. Sean has been instrumental in spearheading James Hardie’s substantial organic net sales growth since 2022, driving material conversion and deeper market penetration through a refined go-to-market strategy targeting end-users via channel partners. Sean brings experience that is directly comparable to Latham’s material conversion and Sand State initiatives, and his demonstrated success in driving strategic growth will be invaluable for Latham and its shareholders.
James E. Cline, Chairman, commented, “Sean is known as a strong leader and brand-builder and has an impressive track record of driving growth at James Hardie. We are thrilled that he has accepted the CEO role at Latham, and the Board believes Sean will be able to leverage his robust commercial experience, sector knowledge, and branding expertise to accelerate our ability to continue to gain share and further the conversion to fiberglass from concrete pools.”
“I am pleased to be joining Latham and am looking forward to building on its achievements to date. This is an excellent opportunity for me to utilize my experience in the building products category to drive further market penetration and adoption of Latham’s top-quality products and greater recognition for its superior service standards,” Mr. Gadd commented.
Mr. Gadd will also become a member of Latham’s Board of Directors, replacing Mr. Rajeski, who is resigning from the Board concurrently with his retirement.
Mr. Cline commented, “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to express our deep appreciation for the contributions that Scott Rajeski has made to Latham during his long tenure at the company, first as Chief Financial Officer and, since 2017, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership and that of his executive and operating teams, the company went public in April of 2021 and has experienced substantial growth, demonstrated resilience within a difficult industry environment, and built a strong financial position.”
Mr. Rajeski noted, “It has been a privilege to serve as the President & CEO of Latham alongside the talented executive and operating teams that we have at the company. Together, we have advanced the awareness and adoption of fiberglass pools and autocovers, while implementing production and related efficiencies that have streamlined our operations. I am proud to be retiring as CEO of Latham with the company in a strong financial position and in very capable hands. Throughout my conversations with Sean, I have been very impressed with his leadership capabilities and background, and I am confident that he will bring a unique skillset that will allow Latham to continue to outperform the industry, gain further traction in the important Sand States, and remain an acquirer of choice.”
About Latham Group, Inc.
Latham Group, Inc., headquartered in Latham, NY, is the largest designer, manufacturer, and marketer of in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Latham has a coast-to-coast operations platform consisting of approximately 1,850 employees across around 30 locations.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release other than statements of historical fact may constitute forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our future operating results and financial position, our business strategy and plans, business and market trends, our objectives for future operations and macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside of our control, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: unfavorable economic conditions and related impact on consumer spending; adverse weather conditions impacting our sales, and can lead to significant variability of sales in reporting periods; natural disasters, including resulting from climate change, geopolitical events, war, terrorism, public health issues or other catastrophic events; competitive risks; our ability to attract, develop and retain highly qualified personnel; inflationary impacts, including on consumer demand; our ability to source raw materials and components for manufacturing our products, our ability to collect accounts receivables from our customers; our ability to keep pace with technological developments and standards, such as generative artificial intelligence; the consequences of industry consolidation on our customer base and pricing; interruption of our production capability at our manufacturing facilities from accident, fire, calamity, regulatory action or other causes; product quality issues, warranty claims or safety concerns such as those due to the failure of builders to follow our product installation instructions and specifications; delays in, or systems disruptions issues caused by the implementation of our enterprise resource planning system; cyber-security breaches and data leaks, and our dependence on information technology systems; compliance with government regulations; our ability to obtain transportation services; the protection of our intellectual property and defense of third-party infringement claims; international business risks; and our ability to secure financing and our substantial indebtedness; and other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports we file or furnish with the SEC. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks emerge from time to time that may impair our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable and our expectations based on third-party information and projections are from sources that management believes to be reputable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activities, performance or achievements. These forward-looking statements reflect our views with respect to future events as of the date hereof or the date specified herein, and we have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or review publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. Our forward-looking statements further do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, merger, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may undertake.
Contact:
Lynn Morgen
Casey Kotary
ADVISIRY Partners
lathamir@advisiry.com
212-750-5800
FAQ
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