Vasilios Soupos brings decades of leadership to key role
LISLE, Ill. – The Water Quality Association announces that Vasilios Soupos has joined the association as Vice President of Product Certification and Laboratory Services. Soupos, who brings more than 20 years’ experience leading regulatory compliance, quality assurance, and operations management across several industries, fills a new position on WQA’s executive team.
“We’re so pleased to welcome Vasilios to WQA,” said Strategic Affairs Officer Richard Mest. “His background in global regulatory compliance and certification and his extensive experience in R & D leadership prepare him well for this key role guiding and developing WQA’s widely respected product certification and laboratory teams.”
The WQA Gold Seal program is the oldest third-party testing and certification program in the water treatment industry. It is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to test and certify drinking water treatment units, driving water system components and other products to ANAB-accredited and public domain NSF/ANSI and NSF/ANSI/CAN standards.
Soupos most recently served as Director of Quality and Product Compliance Engineering at Instant Pot Brands, where he provided global regulatory guidance for new product development and ensured product safety and compliance throughout the lifecycle.
His experience in the consumer goods, appliance, water system components, and food service equipment industries developed his strong background in global regulatory compliance and certification, including UL, CSA, CE, and Energy Star certifications. Soupos also has extensive experience in product safety, operations and supply chain leadership, risk and quality management, and business growth and team development.
Soupos holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and both MS and BS degrees in Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a recognized thought leader and board member with a proven track record of shaping industry standards, fostering strategic collaborations, and delivering measurable results.
WQA also celebrates the leadership of former WQA Chief Operating Officer Tom Bruursema, who retired effective March 13 after serving several months as interim VP.
“Tom has been an integral WQA’s leadership since 2018 and served the industry for decades before that,” said Chief Executive Officer Pauli Undesser, MWS, CAE. “We wish him the very best in his next chapter.”
Bruursema spoke of that legacy of leadership in a recent episode of The Water Quality Association Podcast.
WQA is a not-for-profit trade associationrepresenting the residential, commercial, and industrial water treatment industry. WQA’s education and professional certification programshave been providing industry-standardized training and credentialing since 1977. The WQA Gold Seal certification programhas been certifying products that contribute to the safe consumption of water since 1959. The WQA Gold Seal program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). WQA publishes a consumer-friendly website, BetterWaterToday.org.
wqa.org
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