Aperture Pet & Life Expands Leadership Team to Strengthen Support for Aquarium Retailers and Distributors
Three longtime Aperture leaders take on new roles across sales, product development and merchandising, helping shape how the company develops products, builds relationships and serves customers.
Across its family of brands, Aperture brings together decades of aquarium industry experience to develop innovative products and support the retailers, partners and aquarists who rely on them.
EcoTech Marine co-founder Justin Lawyer developed the award-winning VorTech circulation pumps. In his expanded role, he will continue bringing innovative aquarium products to market.
Three leaders with deep roots in the aquarium industry take on new roles across sales, product development and merchandising.
Aperture is fortunate to have these trusted professionals, whose deep industry expertise will help us strengthen the products, relationships and support we provide to customers.”
GOLDEN VALLEY, MN, UNITED STATES, August 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Aperture Pet & Life today announced the promotions of three leaders across its sales and merchandising organizations, strengthening the company’s dedicated support for retailers, distributors and its broader community of customers and partners.— Chairman and CEO of Aperture Pet & Life
These leaders bring decades of combined aquarium industry experience, including leadership roles with EcoTech Marine, Neptune Systems and Bulk Reef Supply. Their expanded responsibilities will focus on developing innovative products, strengthening customer relationships and ensuring the people and businesses Aperture serves have the products and support they need to be successful.
“Having people who understand aquatics, know our customers and have lived and breathed aquariums throughout their careers is incredibly important as we make decisions about the products we develop and sell,” said Ed Kolodzieski, Chairman and CEO of Aperture Pet & Life.
Justin Lawyer Promoted to Senior Vice President, New Business and Product Development
Justin Lawyer, co-founder of EcoTech Marine, has been promoted to Senior Vice President, New Business and Product Development at Aperture Pet & Life. In his new role, Lawyer will lead efforts to strengthen relationships with retailers and distribution partners while identifying new opportunities, continuing to create innovative products and bringing new ideas to market.
Lawyer’s connection to aquatics has been lifelong, with some of his earliest memories centered around the multiple aquariums in his childhood home. As a teenager, he took his first job at a local fish store. As his passion for reef keeping grew, he connected through saltwater aquarium forums with a community of aquarists. The group was pioneering new approaches to successfully keep hard corals that had previously proven difficult to maintain in aquariums, while developing their own solutions for increasingly sophisticated reef systems.
His entrepreneurial drive eventually led to the creation of EcoTech Marine in 2003, which began by selling equipment Lawyer and his co-founder were building by hand for fellow aquarists. From those early beginnings, Lawyer went on to engineer, develop and patent innovative products that challenged conventional thinking and opened up new possibilities for aquarists, including the VorTech line of aquarium circulation pumps and Radion LED lighting, both of which have become industry-leading technologies in reef keeping.
“I enjoy creating products that help make aquariums more successful, but just as importantly, I want to stay closely connected to the people who help bring those products to market,” said Lawyer. “Our retail and distribution partners play such an important role in this industry, and my goal is to give them great products to share with the customers who rely on them.”
“Justin has a rare combination of deep knowledge about aquarium keeping and the industry, engineering expertise and an instinct for solving problems in ways people haven't thought of before,” said Kolodzieski. “He understands what it takes to keep the most challenging reef aquariums, and he brings that perspective to everything he creates.”
Tom Dachille Promoted to Vice President of Sales
Tom Dachille has been promoted to Vice President of Sales, joining Lawyer’s team and leading Aperture’s sales organization across the United States and international markets and serving retailers, distributors, service providers, public aquariums and research institutes.
Dachille began his aquatics career at one of the most renowned stores in the New York metro area, where he gained firsthand experience helping customers with their aquariums. He developed particular expertise with Neptune Systems Apex aquarium controllers, personally installing and troubleshooting more than 100 systems. Dachille later joined Neptune Systems in 2015, where he went on to hold a series of sales and leadership roles.
“I've always enjoyed helping a store figure out how technology and education can make it easier for their team to sell and support more advanced products,” said Dachille. “When a retailer understands a product and can confidently explain how it will help their customer, everybody wins. I'm looking forward to working even more closely with our retailers, distributors and service providers to find additional ways we can help them grow.”
Jaclyn Wilcox Promoted to Vice President of Merchandising
Jaclyn Wilcox has been promoted to Vice President of Merchandising for Aperture Pet & Life, expanding her leadership of the team responsible for selecting and developing the products offered through its retail and distribution businesses.
Wilcox joined Bulk Reef Supply in 2020 as a Senior Buyer and has since held positions of increasing responsibility within the merchandising organization. She brings extensive experience in merchandising, purchasing, product development, assortment planning and vendor relationships.
In her new role, Wilcox will oversee all merchandising efforts for Aperture, with a focus on ensuring customers have access to the right products for their unique needs.
“The products we choose have a direct impact on our customers and on the businesses that rely on us to provide what their customers are looking for,” said Wilcox. “Our team is focused on understanding those needs, building strong supplier relationships and making sure we have the right assortment available to help our customers succeed.”
“Aperture is fortunate to have these trusted professionals, whose deep industry expertise will help us strengthen the products, relationships and support we provide to customers and partners across our businesses,” said Kolodzieski.
About Aperture
Aperture Pet & Life is a manufacturer, online retailer and distributor of products and solutions that help enrich lives through thriving ecosystems. It operates BulkReefSupply.com, the leading online marketplace for saltwater aquarists, offering products and education for both saltwater and freshwater aquarium keeping.
Through its brands—AquaIllumination, AquaReady, EcoTech Marine, HelloReef and Neptune Systems—and its educational platforms, including the BRStv YouTube channel, Aperture supports aquarists around the world in building and maintaining successful aquariums through innovative products, expert guidance, and a commitment to responsible animal care and sustainable practices.
For more information or media inquiries, contact:
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Aperture Pet & Life
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Inside Aperture’s Pennsylvania facility, where our teams design, engineer and manufacture state-of-the-art aquarium technology in the USA.
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