Power Women: Patti Ryan

If you want to talk to someone who loves their job and hot tubs, give Patti Ryan a call. The 36-year industry veteran can’t retire because she says she’s still having fun and can’t imagine not being part of bringing upcoming Jacuzzi Group innovations to the market. 

Patti’s advice for women in the industry: “Figure out what you want and create it. The lifestyle
of having a home office and being on the road is a fun opportunity. Pay attention and listen. All
manufacturers would be lucky to have more women on their team.”

Patti Ryan

“I’m excited to wake up every day,” Ryan says. “I’m excited for the future because I only see the Jacuzzi brands going forward. We have our lumps and bumps, but we have such an internal belief that we are going to give our dealers everything to be successful.”

Ryan joined Sundance Spas as the aftermarket manager in 1988, before it was bought by Jacuzzi. When a regional sales manager position opened in the Pacific Northwest, Ryan jumped on the opportunity to be closer to family. But for the newly single parent of a 3-year-old, all the travel was a challenge. With the support of family and a bevy of nannies, she made it work and raised “a very independent daughter.” Ryan’s family is full of high-achieving women, including her mother who held a high position at a large construction firm.

As a woman on the road, there have certainly been some awkward and uncomfortable moments, but she says they have been few and far between. “Especially in such a male-dominated industry, you have to carry yourself in a certain way,” she says. “But I’ve always felt respected. And my guys at the company — my brothers — they take care of me.”

Though she’s had many female coworkers, they have never been in sales, and she wishes more would apply.

“We’re on the front line,” she says. “We are the people that the dealers will be totally, brutally honest with. I pride myself on being a good listener and then assimilating it back to the manufacturer in a way that it can be positive. Always trying to find a great middle ground. What keeps me going is I love the company, but I care about the dealers and making sure that they have a strong voice with the manufacturer.”

She has won multiple sales manager of the year titles from Jacuzzi and also co-developed the company’s original dealer training program.

“It’s a fun, exciting, challenging, amazing career I’ve had, and I’m very proud of it,” Ryan says. “I don’t feel like I’m at the end.”