AHRI's new Chairman is Chris Drew, executive vice president of Lancaster, PA-based Burnham Holdings, a manufacturer of heating equipment.

The officers and executive committee are as follows:

Vice chairman: Chris Peel, president and COO, Rheem Manufacturing Co.

Treasurer: Ron Duncan, president, Magic Aire

Immediate past chairman: Doug Young, president and COO, Lennox International, Inc.

Executive Committee:

Dennis Appel, executive vice president, Heat Transfer Solutions, Luvata

John Galyen, president, Danfoss North America

Nicholas Giuffre, president and CEO, Bradford White Corporation

Chris Nelson, president, North America HVAC, Carrier

Chris Peel, president & COO, Rheem Manufacturing Co.

Earle Pfefferkorn, president, Cleaver-Brooks

Dave Regnery, president North America, Climate Solutions, Trane

Rod Rushing, vice president and general manager global products, Johnson Controls

Brent Schroeder, president, air conditioning, Emerson

Mike Schwartz, CEO, Daikin Applied

Bill Steel, president and CEO, Bard Manufacturing

Kevin Wheeler, president, North America, Europe, and India, A.O. Smith

AHRI also presented the Richard C. Schulze Award which is given for distinguished service and commitment to AHRI and the industry's goals and objectives. This year’s recipients were John Bade of Johnson Controls, Matthew Friedlander of RenewAire, John Galyen of Danfoss, Ron Passafaro of ECR International, and Tom Troyanek of Trane.  

In 2016, AHRI honored two individuals with Distinguished Service Awards, the organization’s highest honor. According to AHRI, the award recognizes individuals who are leaders in the industry and who have made significant contributions throughout their careers.

AHRI honored Peter Alexander, senior vice president at Goodman Manufacturing, who recently retired after 59 years in the HVACR and water heating industry. AHRI officials said “Alexander's tenure in our industry is legendary, and his knowledge, insight, grace, and humor will be missed at his company and within the industry. “ 

AHRI also honored Bill Root, vice president and general manager of Laars Heating Systems. Root, who will shortly retire from the industry, has been active since 1986 in a variety of positions prior to joining Laars in 1998.  AHRI said “Root has been an invaluable resource on the heating side of the house and his presence will be greatly missed.”