ARLINGTON, Va. — Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute’s (AHRI’s) board of trustees of North American Technician Excellence (NATE) named current COO John Lanier as president of the organization, effective immediately. Lanier also serves as COO of AHRI, which has an administrative service agreement with NATE.

Founded in 1997, NATE is the one of the nation’s largest non-profit certification organizations for HVACR technicians. In recent years, under the leadership of John Lanier and the NATE board of trustees, the organization intentionally shifted the company’s vision to incorporate technician development in addition to its historical emphasis on testing and certification. In recognition of its excellence and indispensable nature within the industry, NATE began to develop ways to support and train technicians on their path toward certification. Now, a core focus of NATE’s mission is to provide accessible resources and tools to technicians, an overall strategy change that has led to the development of a new pathway to certification, with the Certified HVAC Professional (CHP-5); official NATE study guides; and NATE Training Academy, an online training platform.