Nick DeAngelo, 25, is the youngest Top 40 Under 40 recipient this year, but you’d never guess that by looking at his resume.

While attending high school, DeAngelo elected to attend vocational school to learn how to work with his hands. It was there that he realized a career in HVAC was right for him.

After graduating from vocational school, DeAngelo furthered his industry knowledge by enrolling in more technical courses. His effort and passion caught the attention of a contractor, who recruited him to work as an apprentice. At this time, DeAngelo was asked to pick up a part at the local Carrier distributor. At that visit, he noticed a job opportunity at Distributor Corp. of New England (DCNE).

“I was so impressed by the professionalism exhibited at DCNE that I knew I had found a company where I could build my career,” DeAngelo said. 

After serving as a parts specialist for three years, he made his way over to inside sales.

“After two years, I moved into inside sales and was promoted to manager of the inside sales team not long after,” he said. “After two years as the inside sales manager, I was promoted once again to territory manager. I’m currently entering my second year as a territory manager, and I’m extremely grateful to hold my dream position.”

The key to success at every stop is to maintain a good understanding of customer service, DeAngelo said.

“Whether you’re dealing with a homeowner as a service tech or getting service tech parts in a distribution center, you need to be knowledgeable, pleasant, and, most importantly, have excellent people skills in either situation.”

The most rewarding aspect of DeAngelo’s career is his ability to develop solid and trusting relationships with his customers. He also enjoys seeing the results of his hard work when he knows his efforts have made a difference.

“I’m not afraid to take on any task or help in any situation,” he said. “I strive to make sure I always have an answer or reach out to someone who can help me find the answer to a question.  It’s better to ask a question if you don’t know the answer than to give the wrong answer — that’s always been our company motto. The folks here are very much about team work and helping one another out. DCNE is a family within a family-owned business.”

While he was very young when he started in the industry, age has never been an issue for DeAngelo.

“Initially, I was concerned my age might be a challenge with some of my customers who are from an older generation, but fortunately it has never been an issue,” he said. “I think once they got to know me and saw my strong work ethic and commitment to giving them the best service possible, everything else seemed to fall into place. My peers and customers know I’m an honest and dedicated person who is committed to learning as much as I can about this industry. I truly believe respect is not something you can command; it is something you earn.” 

DeAngelo is energized by the attitude of the young workers hiring in at DCNE.

“It’s refreshing to see a lot of the ‘new kids’ coming in with the same attitude that I had,” he said. “Many of them are not afraid to work hard and dive right in. Unfortunately, a lot of them lack the prior HVAC experience I had from my schooling, so their learning curve is longer.” 

His advice to those who lack the experience is to never stop learning and never lose the drive to continue improving.

“There are people in the field who are twice as old as I who are still learning new things every day” DeAngelo said. “The HVAC field is constantly changing so the more you know the better skilled you’ll be to do your job.”

Every Wednesday, Distribution Trends magazine will feature a full profile on one of its 2018 Top 40 Under 40 winners. To see the list in its entirety, visit http://bit.ly/DT2018Top40. To see each of the full Top 40 features, visit http://bit.ly/DT2018Top40U40.