The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute appointed Christopher Drew, executive vice president of Burnham Holdings, Inc., as its 2017 chairman of the board.

Drew has served on the AHRI board of directors since 2008, and joined the executive committee in 2010.  He has also held the positions of treasurer and then vice chairman.

As chairman, Drew expects to continue to support several AHRI initiatives, many of which seek to find the proper balance and dialog between industry and the government agencies that regulate many of the products manufactured by AHRI members. Reform of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 is a priority, along with ensuring that AHRI is engaging with the White House and Capitol Hill at the appropriate levels so that the views and issues of concern to AHRI members are being effectively communicated.

“Some of our most important work involves coordination with the DOE and EPA to ensure that new energy efficiency mandates are sensible for end users, installers and manufacturers,” Drew said. “As an organization we look forward to working with the new administration towards a regulatory process that is balanced and sensible.”

Additionally, Drew is looking forward to beginning a dialog among AHRI’s members regarding the organization’s role in supporting efforts to deploy commercial and residential heating and cooling equipment that is now part of the “Internet of Things.” In an era of heightened awareness surrounding cyber-threats, appliance security, privacy of data collected, equipment reliability, and communication capabilities are all-important factors for the industry to consider.

AHRI’s 315 member companies represent more than 90 percent of the industry’s manufacturers in North America, and employ more than 1.2 million people across the United States.