Gicon Pumps & Equipment Inc. recently announced that Ronnie Hensley, the company’s director of engineered water, retired on March 10 after nearly 26 years with the company. His successor is Mark Hacker.
Hensley began his career in oil and gas in Texas and worked across the globe as a roughneck, moving to driller and later toolpusher, from 1978 to 1995. In 1995, he joined Gicon Pumps & Equipment, headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, as a territory sales manager, transferring his downhole drilling knowledge to the groundwater industry. Hensley was promptly promoted and worked as a sales manager at Gicon for 10 years.
In 2005, Hensley became the general manager of the engineered products division and later the director of engineered water, overseeing teams in sales, operations, and production. Colorado-based Headwater Companies LLC acquired Gicon in late 2020.
Hensley played a critical role in expanding Gicon from two locations and 20 employees to 10 locations and 138 employees across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
“We were able to drive the business from mom-and-pop to new levels,” Hensley said, attributing the success to the greater Gicon team. “We were all one big family. It was a team effort, and we were all working toward the same goals at the end of the day.”
While at Gicon, Hensley was known for fostering relationships and trust among his team, vendors, and customers.
“People buy from people,” he said. “They will buy from you if they believe in you and trust you.”
Mark Durham, general manager of commercial business for Headwater Companies, has worked for Gicon since 1991. He hired Hensley in 1995 and worked with him during his entire tenure at Gicon.
“Ronnie Hensley connected with people. He’s a genuine people person. You could bank on what he told you,” Durham said. “To become a great leader, you have to have earned peoples’ trust and respect. Ronnie earned and held that respect from his peers in the industry.”
During his time at Gicon, Hensley contributed 15 years to the Texas Ground Water Association Board of Directors, including serving as president of the board. He also spent 10 years on the NGWA Board of Directors, where he was the first noncontractor to hold the position of secretary/treasurer and later served as vice president of the Suppliers Section. Hensley also sat on the board of directors for the NGWA’s research and development committee.
“I was always avid about giving back to an industry I love so much,” Hensley said. “That was my calling.”
In 2011, Hensley was awarded the Texas Ground Water Association President’s Award for Honorary Lifetime Achievement. He received the Manufacturer and Supplier of the Year Award in 2009. In 2020, Hensley was honored with the NGWA Supplier of the Year Award.
Hensley grew up in Lubbock, Texas. He plans to continue operating his two businesses, Cripple Creek Homes and H&M Construction & Design, while spending time with his four children and eight grandchildren alongside his wife of 43 years, Patti.