The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced new leadership during its 2011 Annual Meeting, held Nov. 12-15 in Bonita Springs, Fla.
Ajita Rajendra, president and chief operating officer (COO) of A.O. Smith, is AHRI’s new chairman.
In his address to members, Rajendra emphasized the need for AHRI to work with industry partners to pass key legislation on Capitol Hill, including consensus agreements establishing new federal minimum-efficiency standards for small-duct, high-velocity air conditioners and heat-pump pool heaters and requiring the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a new test procedure for water heaters.
Rajendra also called on members to work together to further the credibility of AHRI certification programs in the United States and abroad.
Morrison Carter, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Beckett Gas Inc., will serve as immediate past chairman. Harry Holmes, president of Morrison Products, will serve as vice chairman, and Chris Drew, vice president of Burnham Holdings Inc., will serve as treasurer.
The following were named directors at large serving on the executive committee: Dan Ellis, president, ClimateMaster; Nicholas Giuffre, president, Bradford White; Tom Healy, group president, Parker Hannifin; Bill Johnson, president, Hill PHOENIX; David LaGrand, president and CEO, NORDYNE; Robert McDonough, president, Carrier Residential and Light Commercial; John Murphy, vice president and general manager, systems, Johnson Controls; Earle Pfefferkorn, president, Cleaver-Brooks; Ed Purvis, executive vice president, Emerson Climate Technologies; David Swift, president and CEO, Goodman Manufacturing; and Doug Young, president and CEO, residential, Lennox International.
The following were named directors at large with terms expiring in 2013: James J. Connor, president and CEO, Tecumseh; David Diggs, global business director, refrigerants, Honeywell; Ellis, ClimateMaster; John Galyen, president, North America, Danfoss; Ron Hanlon, COO, McQuay; Shawn Intagliata, president, Unico; Johnson, Hill PHOENIX; J.R. Jones, CEO, Rheem Manufacturing; Dennis Laughlin, president and CEO, Arzel Zoning; LaGrand, NORDYNE; Mark MacCracken, CEO, Calmac; McDonough, Carrier Residential and Light Commercial; Pfefferkorn, Cleaver-Brooks; Purvis, Emerson Climate Technologies; Roger Richmond-Smith, chairman, Smardt; Didier Teirlinck, senior vice president and president, climate technologies, Ingersoll Rand; John White Jr., president, Taco; and Young, Lennox.
The following were elected to fill open positions as directors at large, with terms expiring in 2012: Gary Michel, president, residential solutions, Ingersoll Rand; Ronald Passafaro, president and CEO, ECR International; and Yogi Uemura, executive officer, Daikin Industries.