Greater St. Louis
I like to collaborate both within and outside of the team; together we can accomplish much more than on our own. My current role is to lead COPELAND Comfort Control mechanical engineering teams to design controls for gas heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration. Over the years, I have held various roles in HVAC&R Engineering, Sales, and Product Management.
Leads the Comfort Control mechanical engineering teams for gas heating and refrigerant controls in the HVAC&R industry. Team responsibilities include NPD, factory liaison, agency testing, and R&D at multiple locations in the US and Mexico.
Leads the Cooling Controls engineering and product management teams, whose primary products are expansion valves, solenoid valves, filter driers, and other system protectors for air-conditioning and refrigeration systems. The teams design, validate, and launch new products to the HVAC&R market. Performs product roadmapping and product life cycle planning, as well as resource planning and project prioritization. Leads performance reviews of competitive products. Introduces new materials and designs to customers. Examples include transitioning to stainless steel and polymer construction, and introducing products for new low Global Warming Potential system refrigerants. Conducts face-to-face technical presentations to key customers and stakeholders.
Responsible for US Air-Conditioning OEM sales of valves, filter driers, and refrigerant controls. Built relationships with key OEMs, growing the business during major transitions, including market downturn and recovery, refrigerant conversion, increasing commodity prices, product rationalization, and plant move activities. Pricing authority. Mentor for Inside Sales team. Managed several direct and indirect reports to accomplish the sales goals.
Platform owner for the refrigerant expansion valve product families. Developed product strategies and road maps for air-conditioning and refrigeration markets. Led major new product development programs through a gate management process. Determined pricing guidelines for new products. Conducted product updates for corporate management and global sales representatives. Supported factories in Mexico, China, and the Czech Republic. Program manager for a cross-functional team to develop and launch a new valve platform. Wrote the appropriations request to create an assembly line with all-new technology. Led conjoint market analysis, customer focus group discussions, and competitive analysis before publishing the product specifications. Determined the pricing and sales plan. Coordinated the creation of launch materials. Conducted project updates for corporate staff members. Program manager to create a new value-add business venture. This involved selecting a third-party partner, creating a new order flow process, and determining the sales plan and pricing. Other product management accomplishments: • Increased sales revenue of mechanical expansion valve business unit by 50% • Led model rationalization efforts, which reduced SKUs by 40% and improved profits
Established pricing and commission/multiplier structures for equipment sales distribution channels. Justified and specified new development programs, wrote product literature and field information bulletins, conducted product training for sales representatives, and tracked engineering programs using MS Project. Managed the following product families. • Infrared Heating: Launched a new line of gas-fired, pressurized low-intensity tube heaters. Created marketing and technical literature, news releases, and conducting sales training. • Packaged Rooftop Air-Conditioning: Published the engineering specifications for the 7.5-12 ton model platform, after performing a competitive pricing and feature analysis. • Direct-Fired Make-Up Air Heating Units and Air Rotation Units • Led new product development for the OEM heat exchanger group • Determined the annual sales plan for heat exchangers with input from the sales team • Project leader for developing and implementing a new corrosion-resistant heat exchanger coating, which led to new customer applications while reducing factory emissions levels
Project engineer for the redesign of the residential furnace line. Design responsibility for combustion blowers, burner assemblies, ignition system specifications, and direct vent piping. Lead engineer for the following heating products development programs. • Design of the 95% efficient condensing gas furnace line • Upgrading all models to meet California’s NOx emissions requirements • Design of a propane-convertible, condensing direct vent gas furnace line