The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) held its inaugural Leadership Forum November 11-13 in Tucson, Arizona. During the forum AHRI elected its new officers and presented awards.

"Without these dedicated industry leaders, AHRI would not be the recognized voice of the industry and reliable source for information," said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek. "We are very grateful for their service to AHRI and the HVACR and water heating industry."

AHRI's new chairman is William Steel, president and CEO of Bard Manufacturing Company, an Ohio-based manufacturer of residential and commercial heating and air conditioning equipment.

The AHRI board of directors is as follows:

Officers

Vice chairman: John Galyen, president, Danfoss

Vice chairman: Mike Schwartz, CEO, Daikin Applied

Treasurer: Ron Duncan, president, Magic Aire

Immediate past chairman: Chris Peel, president and CEO, Rheem Manufacturing Co.

Directors

Dennis Appel, EV, heat transfer solutions, Modine

Gary Bedard, EVP, president and COO of worldwide refrigeration, Lennox

R. Bruce Carnevale, president and COO, Bradford White 

Megan Fellinger, president and CEO, Morrison Products

Elizabeth Haggerty, VP and GM of global ducted systems, Johnson Controls

Chris Nelson, president of Carrier residential and commercial systems

Brent Schroeder, president of air conditioning, Emerson

Donny Simmons, president of commercial HVACR, Ingersoll Rand

John Swann, president, Weil-McLain

Kevin Wheeler, president and CEO, A.O. Smith

The Richard C. Schulze Award is given for distinguished service and commitment to AHRI and the industry's goals and objectives. AHRI presented the awards to Darryl Denton of Trane, Ken Fonstad with ABB, Steve Lind with Trane, Mark Menzer of Danfoss, and Mike Straub with Rheem Manufacturing Co.  

The AHRI Public Service Award recognizes individuals or organizations outside of AHRI and its member companies that have made contributions to the HVACR industry. AHRI presented this award to Warren Heeley of the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada.

The Distinguished Service Award is AHRI's highest honor. The institute said the award recognizes individuals who are leaders in the industry and who have made significant contributions throughout their careers. AHRI honored Frank Stanonik, who retired from AHRI this year after more than 40 years in the industry.