Kloe Kozak — 30 Under 40 2026
Kloe Kozak joined Alpine Pools shortly after graduating from high school, expecting a first job. Only a few months in, she knew she had found something more.
“I was hooked by the end of my first summer,” Kozak says.
By her second year, Kozak was selling above-ground pools and hot tubs from the company’s Bethel Park location, covering a territory that extended from Pittsburgh’s South Hills into northern West Virginia and southeastern Ohio. Nearly a decade later, her responsibilities span full-cycle sales and project management as well as training, scheduling, daily operations and performance management for the retail team.
At a family- and woman-owned business, however, Kozak says job titles only go so far. Her days can include troubleshooting equipment, talking a customer through a problem, giving the team an HR pep talk, opening a pool, detailing hot tubs or driving a box truck to pick up inventory.
“Here, wearing multiple hats isn’t irregular,” she says. “It’s part of the job, and one of the reasons I’ve loved every step of the last 10 years.”
— KLOE KOZAK
That variety has helped Kozak become resourceful and confident in an industry where, as a younger woman, she has sometimes been underestimated. It has also given her the opportunity to build lasting customer relationships — one of the parts of the business she values most.
Starting young meant learning some lessons on the job. Kozak had little real-world experience with things like financing and credit, and she had to learn quickly while developing the communication skills necessary to work with a range of customers and employees. One lesson in particular stuck: Good communication begins with listening.
Today, Kozak is interested in seeing the industry take more chances with hot tub aesthetics and design rather than following the same trends. But, she says, “At the end of the day, I want to be remembered as someone who genuinely cared, showed up for her clients and invested in them just as much as they invested in us.”
As her career continues, Kozak also hopes to create a supportive environment that gives young employees room to build a career they are proud of — much as she did from that first summer at Alpine Pools.
Locations refer to company headquarters; honorees may work remotely or live elsewhere.
