Paul Alway

A highly experienced refrigeration engineer with over 25 years experience in the industry covering manufacturing, consultancy, design and research. The last seven years have been spent working directly for retailers in the UK (Tesco, Marks and Spencer) implementing change programs for the roll out of Transcritical CO₂ systems, maintenance work on existing cascade and LPR CO₂ systems and major energy reduction programmes. Paul is now working as Design Director for AB Group to continue to build on their ongoing success in the use of natural refrigerants.

Jamie Anthony

Jamie Anthony works at Bonneville Power Administration as an engineer in the energy efficiency department. He is BPA’s refrigeration, refrigerants, and lighting subject matter expert. Jamie works with BPA’s Emerging Technologies and Technology Innovation groups to identify and promote collaborative research that will create new energy conservation measures and programmatic approaches. In addition, Jamie supports existing energy efficiency programs and works directly with BPA’s utilities to implement custom energy conservation projects in the commercial sector.

Javier Atencia Escudero

Javier Atencia Escudero has a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, specialising in the research of solutions and specific control systems for refrigeration applications, air conditioning and energy recovery. He currently coordinates and directs the Tewis engineers’ team, developing projects both nationally and internationally, and creating strategic plans for energy efficiency. During his professional career he has attended and presented at different conferences and training sessions on air conditioning and refrigeration, with a focus on eco-efficient solutions in commercial and industrial buildings.

Antoine Azar

Antoine graduated from the University of Liège in Belgium, with a Master's degree in electro-mechanical & energy engineering. Antoine worked at the Coca-Cola Company for 16 years. Between July 2011 - December 2016 he held the position of global program director of Coca-Cola’s sustainable refrigeration program. Prior to that, Antoine performed as the maintenance manager and worked in various departments including engineering, design and innovation, quality control and telecommunication.

Andy Baker

Andy is a registered professional engineer in Alaska and owner of YourCleanEnergy consulting in Anchorage. He has significant experience in the financial evaluation and design of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. He has lived and worked in Alaska since 1998 and has focused for the past fourteen years on identifying and designing cost effective renewable energy systems for commercial, municipal, and community clients. Andy is a graduate in environmental engineering from Penn State University and worked previously as a project engineer for Buchart-Horn in Pennsylvania; Black & Veatch in San Diego, Lusaka, and Boston; and for HDR Alaska.

Andy’s work focus since 2008 has been on ocean source heat pump systems for large facilities, and for ocean source district heating in coastal Alaska. He has worked with the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward for the past nine years to evaluate, design and monitor a large sea water heat pump system that has now effectively replaced 98% of local fossil fuel use with ocean source heat pumps.  This effort includes the design in 2014 of an 80 ton trans-critical CO₂ heat pump system with heat recovery to offset an existing 500 KW electric boiler used for space, domestic hot water, and outdoor slab heat.  Andy is currently leading the design of a 120 ton ground source trans-critical CO₂ heat pump system with heat recovery that will provide district heating to the Library, City Hall, Fire Hall and Annex for the City of Seward, Alaska.

Jeff Bauman

Jeff Bauman has over 30 years of experience in the design, manufacturing and technical support of commercial refrigeration and foodservice equipment. He studied Mechanical Engineering and earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jeff began his working career as a product designer for a custom kitchen equipment fabricator. He went on to work for Husmann Corporation and Victory Refrigeration, before joining Continental Refrigerator in 2008.

Jeff holds two US design patents and is a member of ASHRAE and AHRI, with positions on several technical committees, and is a member of the NAFEM Technical Liaison Committee. Jeff also served as an active member on the Department of Energy (DOE) Working Group, which negotiated rulemaking on certification and enforcement for Commercial HVAC and Refrigeration Equipment. Jeff worked with governmental agencies and certification bodies on the development and compliance of equipment standards and regulations.

Bryan Beitler

Mr. Beitler’s career includes 38+ years of experience in refrigeration and HVAC design, sales, energy and operations support for businesses focused on grocery retailers, cold storage, process refrigeration and other mission critical systems. His current and most recent experience is with Source Refrigeration and HVAC. Mr. Beitler started his career with Scott Polar Corp. of Twin Falls Idaho, then later transferred to sister company Kimmel Motz Refrigeration of Los Angeles, and most recently Edison Source and Source Refrigeration and HVAC, of which CoolSys is the parent company.

Mr. Beitler’s responsibilities over the years have been highly technical, managing engineering services, manufacturing of refrigeration equipment, providing direct sales support to select customers, as well as operations and Energy Optimization Services support. He holds a degree in Engineering Technology with emphasis on refrigeration and HVAC from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Ca. Mr. Beitler participates in industry organizations such as ASHRAE, RETA & FMI. He is a contractor’s license qualifier, and holds 40+ licenses in various states and regions, and recently was a co-author of an ASHRAE sponsored Commissioning Guide for Commercial and Industrial refrigeration systems. He is currently the President and CEO of the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a non-profit organization focused on the acceleration of natural refrigerants into the marketplace.

David Bornemeier

David Bornemeier is an entrepreneur, investor, and old fashioned American businessman. He is a C-Level executive and director of several companies in various industries including education, private equity, leisure services and of course warehousing and logistics. When he is not spending time with his wife and three kids (or at the nearest fly fishing spot), most of David's time and focus is spent with Western Gateway Storage Co. In business for over a century, Western Gateway is now expanding its business to a new state of the art warehouse utilizing the latest technology to keep their clients' inventory safe, clean and cold.

Fernando Campos

Fernando Campos is Deputy Director for Sustainability’s Infrastructure for Walmart Mexico. He studied Electronic and Communications Engineering at Tec de Monterey and a Master degree in Energy Systems at the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen, Germany. In 2008 he joined Walmex and he has been leading their renewable energy and energy efficiency innovations strategy since then. Among his responsibilities, Fernando has been participating as a core member for Walmart’s Global Energy and Facilities Sustainable Value Network in order to develop a global strategy for energy efficiency initiatives.

Marc Chasserot

Marc Chasserot is a specialist in natural refrigeration with over 15 years of experience in the HVAC&R sector, starting as the Marketing Manager for the Norsk Hydro business unit specialised in CO₂ transcritical refrigeration and heating. He worked closely with several Japanese manufacturers selling the market innovative "CO₂ Ecocute heatpumps".

In 2006 Marc founded the industry leading website for CO₂ cooling and heating experts worldwide, called www.R744.com. This was followed by three additional industry resources for hydrocarbons, water and ammonia (namely: www.hydrocarbons21.com, www.R718.com and www.ammonia21.com).

Marc is co-founder and CEO of shecco, an independent market development company specialised in bringing Natural Refrigerants 'faster to market', working with numerous companies worldwide. Marc has chaired and organised several international workshops bringing together leading policy and industry experts to discuss 'how to bring natural refrigerants' faster to market, known as 'ATMOsphere'. He is also an active member of ASHRAE.

Avi Chatterjee

Avi Chatterjee has over 27 years of experience in the HVAC field.  Currently a senior member of the Huayi Compressor Barcelona’s sales and marketing team, he is responsible for the North American market. During his career, Avi held several positions of increasing responsibilities with Emerson Climate Technologies and Embraco.

Tristam Coffin

Tristam Coffin is the Director of Sustainability & Facilities for Whole Foods Market’s Northern California Region. Among his responsibilities, Tristam oversees the implementation of environmentally responsible programs and sustainable engineering initiatives for the 45 stores, regional office, distribution center, and 5 future stores that make up the company’s Northern California Region. Mr. Coffin is a LEED Accredited Professional, expert in resource management and holds a broad array of environmental expertise in areas including waste diversion, refrigeration systems, and renewable energy. He is also a member of the company’s Global Green Mission Leadership Team. Prior to being employed by Whole Foods Market, Mr. Coffin worked in alternative energy and transportation for the Transportation Research Center of Vermont as well as in natural sciences and advocacy in Yellowstone National Park, Montana. Mr. Coffin holds a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont.

Jeff Cohen

Jeff Cohen is Co-Founder and Senior VP of EOS Climate. Based in San Francisco, EOS is leveraging carbon markets and innovative financial mechanisms to promote production of commodities that minimize impacts on climate and to develop projects that directly reduce emissions of powerful greenhouse gases. EOS has partnerships with Fortune 500 companies across multiple industrial, commercial, and consumer sectors and has received numerous recognitions including five consecutive years as best project developer from Environmental Finance, Innovator Awards from both the American Carbon Registry and Sustainable Brands, and the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award.

Aaron Daly

Aaron Daly is Global Energy Coordinator for Whole Foods Market and is supporting the company’s twelve regional offices in all aspects of energy management. Aaron is working with colleagues to meet the company goal of 25% reduction in per square foot energy usage by the end of 2015 and is developing the Company’s renewable energy portfolio. Prior to working at Whole Foods Market, Aaron was a National Account Manager at PECI, a not-for-profit energy efficiency consulting group based in Portland, OR. At PECI, Aaron worked with retailers such as Supervalu – Albertsons, Trader Joes and others on the development and execution of energy management programs. Aaron is a Certified Energy Manager and holds an MS in energy management from Sonoma State University.

Alvaro de Oña

Alvaro is a shareholder and co-founder of shecco as an independent entity. He was instrumental in the early success of shecco’s communication platforms (R744.com, hydrocarbons21.com, ammonia21.com) and market research services. With a background in social sciences and international relations, he has spent the last six years working at the European Commission as an Human Resources expert, overseeing several change projects and helping to set up two new Agencies of the EU from scratch. As of March 2016, Alvaro is back at shecco to help its further international development and lead the media team in its efforts to share relevant stories, news and updates on the global transition towards natural refrigerants.

Peter Dee

Peter Dee is Sales & Service Director of Danfoss Electronics North America, a $400 million subsidiary and largest market for the global manufacturer of high-efficiency heating, air-conditioning, refrigeration, and motion systems. He has over 28 years of industry experience. Peter joined Danfoss in 2012 and leads the companies’ development of business in supermarkets and commercial refrigeration, responsible for accelerating the adoption of natural refrigerants and technologies to reduce energy consumption.

Prior to joining Danfoss Peter was President of Cool Controls and Energy MCS, based in Ireland. He has a Master’s of Business Administration degree in Management from Florida International University and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering.

Paul Delaney

Paul Delaney has been an energy and energy efficiency professional for 38 years, and is currently a Senior Engineer at Southern California Edison. He is responsible for the evaluation of new technologies that can reduce demand and energy consumption for Edison industrial, large commercial, manufacturing and agriculture customers. Paul is an experienced speaker, panelist and recognized utility expert in natural and alternative refrigerants for refrigeration applications. Mr. Delaney was a former Vice President for the American Utility Network, National Account manager for Edison Source and Senior Energy engineer for the United States Navy. Mr. Delaney holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA, and is a member of ASHRAE, ASME and SME.

Jan Dusek

Jan holds a Doctor of Engineering degree in System Design from Hosei University in Tokyo and a Master’s degree from the Czech Technical University in Prague. During his studies, and research undertaken in the USA, Europe and Japan, Jan has centered his academic focus on environmental technologies and marketing strategies. Having lived in Japan for over 8 years, Jan communicates fluently in Japanese and has a rich experience cooperating with Japanese industry. Jan is currently based in Tokyo, responsible for business development activities and monitoring Asian markets on behalf of shecco Japan.

Eloy Espinosa

Eloy Espinosa has been an engineering director at Bohn de Mexico for 8 years. He has more than 30 years of experience in the design and manufacture of refrigeration systems for cold rooms and supermarkets. Eloy has focused on promoting the use of natural refrigerant technologies in Mexico, implementing the first NH₃/CO₂ applications by Bohn and developing plans on training for technicians on these refrigerants.

Howell Feig

Howell Feig is currently the National Chain Sales Manager for AHT Cooling Systems USA. He has been with the company since AHT entered the North American market in 2005 and has helped the organization with marketing, sales and identifying retail market needs in an effort to work with the global HQ to develop solutions. During the course of his work at AHT, Howell has been on the forefront of introducing the North American market to energy savings, natural refrigerant and new ways to consider building retail environments for food.

Glenn Gallagher

Glenn has been working on F-gas management strategies for more than 25 years, and currently develops regulations to reduce emissions of high-global warming refrigerants in California. Glenn also serves as a technical advisor to the U.S. Climate Alliance Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) Strategy team.

Ricardo García

Ricardo García is an industrial engineer with 25 years experience in the industrial and commercial refrigeration. He has done several industrial refrigeration courses at Lanier Technical College (GA), York (PA) and the University of Oklahoma. Ricardo has worked for 25 years at Frialsa and he is currently the project director. He has been involved in the design and construction of more than 25 distribution centers in Mexico and one in Peru (10 of those are NH₃/ CO₂ systems).

Michael Garry

Michael Garry is a business journalist with a 30-year track record. Most recently, he ledthe coverage of sustainability, technology and logistics at Supermarket News for more than 11 years. He is well known among retailers, suppliers, technology vendors and trade groups throughout the North American food retailing and consumer goods industries. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of M.I.T. with a degree in political science, he has written his first book, “Game of My Life – New York Mets,” in which 25 baseball players recall their most memorable game.

Ana Cecilia Garza González

Ana Cecilia Garza González joined 7-Eleven México in 2011. In her current position as the organization’s national energy and sustainability manager, she is responsible for managing the energy consumption of 1,886 7-Eleven México stores and 215 Petro-7 gas stations; evaluating and negotiating power purchase agreements; and specifying high-efficiency equipment for HVAC, cold vault and lightning. She is also charged with monitoring, reducing and reporting the company’s CO₂ emissions.

Ana was previously responsible for the first two LEED-certified 7-Eleven México stores, achieving the first LEED Silver-certified convenience store in Latin America and the first LEED Gold-certified convenience store in the world.

Ana earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico. She is professionally accredited as LEED AP Building Design and Construction and LEED AP Operations and Maintenance by the USGBC.

Johari Gregorio

Johari Gregorio studied at the University of Catania in Italy where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Gregorio joined Embraco in 2011 and is currently a Senior Technical Support Specialist for original equipment manufacturers and master distributors in Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Middle-East and North Africa. At Embraco, his responsibilities include product development and testing, providing quality assistance to customers, leading product seminars for customers and providing strategic insight. Gregorio has over five years of experience providing technical and sales support for compressors and industrial equipment. Before starting his career at Embraco, Gregorio led valve overhauling activities in a maintenance service company that operates in oil refinery and chemical plants for customers such as ExxonMobile and Sasol.

Vicente Guilabert

Vicente Guilabert is currently the Vice General Manager leading R&D and Quality at Huayi Compressor Barcelona, S.L. He has an Industrial Engineer degree from the “Universidad Politecnica de Catalunya” and a PDD from the IESE Business School. He has made an extensive professional career within the HVAC&R sector. Mr. Guilabert is currently the head of the R&D team at Huayi Compressor Group for light commercial refrigeration compressors. He has an outstanding knowledge of the hermetic compressor technologies, combined with great expertise in light commercial refrigeration market trends. He has also participated as a speaker in international conferences.

Before joining Huayi Compressor Barcelona 15 years ago, he worked for Hitachi Air Conditioning for 5 years as the Technical Customer Service Centre Manager. His responsibilities were linked to the technical assistance of customers worldwide.

Pamela Gupta

Pamela is the manager of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy Section in the Research Division of California Air Resources Board (ARB), where she is responsible for developing and implementing mitigation strategies addressing high-global warming fluorinated gases (F-gases). Pamela managed the recent development of Short Lived Climate Pollutant Plan (SLCP) strategy to meet the legislatively mandated targets for Hydrofluorocarbons. She led the development and currently oversees the implementation of California’s Refrigerant Management Program, which requires large commercial and industrial facilities to follow best refrigerant management practices and report their refrigerant usage to ARB annually.

Her team is also responsible for conducting research necessary to develop and maintain the statewide inventory and evaluate mitigation options for F-gases. Pamela has almost 20 years of environmental experience while working at the Board. Prior to her current role, she worked in the Monitoring and Laboratory Division as a staff lead on a regulatory effort to control fugitive emissions of gasoline stored in aboveground storage tanks. She also worked in the lab for several years where she performed method development to identify volatile organic compounds and tested ambient air samples received from all over California.

Derek Hamilton

Derek holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland and is Professionally Registered with the UK Engineering Council. Derek has over 12 years of global experience in the design, manufacture and installation of industrial refrigeration and heat pump systems using both ammonia and carbon dioxide. He is a specialist in low charge ammonia system design and one of the pioneers of the 'low charge ammonia' concept in the US. Derek is a long time advocate of natural refrigerant technologies, and works to promote the use of natural refrigerants as the long term solution to replacing HFCs in the HVAC&R industries.

Jonathon Hare

Jonathon holds a Batchelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He studied in the United States at both North Carolina State University and Old Dominion University where he focused on Fluid Dynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, and Aerodynamics.
Upon moving to Australia, he began working in the industrial refrigeration & HVAC sector as a design engineer. He currently is based in Shepparton Victoria, and works in system design, energy efficiency, and natural refrigerant systems integration. He is also involved in industry through ARIAH Refrigeration Special Technical Group Secretary, as well as industry promotion in regional Victoria working with local TAFE institutions.

Charles Hon

Charles Hon has 29 years of experience in the refrigeration industry working for True Manufacturing. After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1976 with a Bachelor in Science, he has been working in various engineering, environmental and manufacturing positions. Charles plays an active role in the refrigeration industry. He submitted one of the two US EPA SNAP submissions that allowed R-290 to be used in commercial refrigeration in the US, as well as SNAP applications that allowed the venting of HCs. He is also one of the twelve DoE ASRAC (Appliance Standards and Rule-making Federal Advisory Committee) members and one of the two US representatives to the IEC 61C committee on increasing allowable charge sizes of flammable refrigerants.

Harrison Horning

Harrison Horning is Director of Maintenance for Retail Business Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize.  His role is focused on supporting Hannaford Supermarkets, with 181 stores in five northeastern US states.  His current work includes collaborative efforts to address sustainability and climate impacts.  He has over 25 years of experience in the field of facilities and energy management, encompassing a wide range of commercial, industrial and institutional facilities. 

Steve Jackson

Steve Jackson is co-founder and president of PermaCold Engineering Inc., an award-winning industrial refrigeration engineering and installation firm founded in 1993 in Portland, Oregon. PermaCold is recognized for its expertise in designing systems for optimum efficiency, dependability and value and provides customers with preventative maintenance and repairs, retrofitting services, consulting on efficiency and regulatory compliance, and more. PermaCold focuses on engineering energy-efficient, environmentally safe systems and is the industry leader in green industrial refrigeration.

Francisco Jorge Zavala

In 2010, Francisco Jorge Zavala joined ICONN, the parent company of 7-Eleven Meéxico convenience stores, Petro-7 gas stations and a distribution center warehouse in Mexico. He has 15 years of plant and operations management experience in federal and private organizations.

Francisco’s main areas of expertise are automation substations, BMS, energy efficiency projects, HVAC, lighting and construction.

Francisco obtained his bachelor’s degree from Instituto Tecnologico de Veracruz, and has also earned a master’s degree in electrical power system from Nuevo Leon University. He is a part-time professor of efficiency energy and electronic power at Universidad Regiomontana in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Leigha Joyal

Leigha is Energy Analyst at Hillphoenix, Inc. and has been in that position since its inception. Focusing on utility incentives and rebates she has been successful in securing millions for customers.  She has also worked in the field as a refrigeration service technician for a small company in RI.  She holds a law degree from Roger William University School of Law and is a Certified Energy Manager. 

Mike Kallas

Mike Kallas is a recent graduate from Montana Tech of the University of Montana where he studied mechanical engineering. Mike is new to the refrigeration industry and is pleased to be representing the Azane™ brand by promoting low charge ammonia refrigeration solutions. Mike believes he is breaking in to the refrigeration industry at an exciting time as the impact of regulatory changes sets in and resulting opportunities arise.

Tim Kidman

Tim Kidman is a Project Director with WSP’s Sustainability and Energy practice. He has 12 years of experience in the environmental, sustainability, and climate change fields, supporting numerous clients in GHG management, sustainability strategy, reporting, and climate resiliency. He has worked with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District for six years on a variety of efforts to estimate and evaluate GHG mitigation opportunities, and recently helped SMUD develop its Pilot Natural Refrigerant Incentive Program that provides financial assistance to SMUD customers who install natural refrigerant systems. He also has extensive experience developing GHG offset methodologies, including an Ozone Depleting Substances Protocol that provides incentives for reducing high-GWP refrigerants.

James Knudsen

James Knudsen is the North American Segment Leader for Food Retail at Danfoss. He is an experienced refrigeration and manufacturing executive specializing in global marketing, business development and product strategy. He has had worked in Food Retail and Foodservice as well as other industrial markets and has broad international experience. Jim has a bachelor degree in Physics from Michigan State University, an MBA from Baldwin Wallace University, and is the holder of five U.S. patents.

Michael Lehtinen

Michael Lehtinen is the Director of Marketing for Kysor/Warren. He has more than 15 years of experience in the marketing field working in major companies including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Opti Medical Systems and Roche Diagnostics.  He has worked in refrigeration for the last 5 years and has developed expertise in his knowledge of the natural refrigerant market and technologies.

Eoin Lennon

Eoin is a highly regarded thought leader with a long and distinguished career in the Refrigeration Industry for the last 30 years. The holder of a 1st class honours degree in engineering he combines this with a wealth of experience to make a difference in refrigeration thinking and design.   

Eoin joined Novum in 2007. He’s been working on pioneering the development of Propane refrigeration systems since 2008. This has culminated in the development of the LEAP® technology, a breakthrough Cassette refrigeration system for Novum display cabinets.

Peter Lepschat

A native of Oregon, Peter Lepschat has been involved with ammonia refrigeration for over 25 years. He currently serves as Corporate Manager of Engineering Services at Henningsen Cold Storage Co., where he is involved in the design and construction of new facilities as well as continuous improvement at the twelve existing HCS locations. Peter serves on the National Board of directors for RETA, and has written and presented white papers and articles for both RETA and the IIAR.

Kurt Liebendorfer

Kurt is Vice President of Evapco and is located at its corporate headquarters in Taneytown, MD. He is leading the development and market introduction of the new EvapCold family of products, which are complete Packaged Low Charge Ammonia Refrigeration Systems.

Kurt has been in the industrial refrigeration, process cooling and construction industry for 30 years and has also worked for Johnson Controls/Frick, Stellar and GEA/FES.

Kurt received an Executive MBA from Jacksonville University and a Bachelor of Science - Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

Kurt has served on the Board of Directors of the International District Energy Association, Past President of the Jacksonville chapter of ASHRAE, Past Chair & President of the Turbine Inlet Cooling Association and is an active member of IIAR, serving on the Government Affairs committee & Compliance Guidelines committee, and the Global Cold Chain Alliance serving on the Refrigeration & Energy committee and the Construction Codes committee.

Jerry Lozano

Jerry is a chemical engineer, graduated from Tecnológico de Monterrey and holds a master in Engineering Management from Northwestern University. He joined Güntner in 2010 as a sales/application engineer and has been leading the commercial refrigeration effort since 2014 for the US and Canada.

Michael Lynch

Mike obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University located in Potsdam, NY. In 1991, and began his career with Nestlé as a Refrigeration Engineer, where he was promoted to Maintenance Manager while ultimately becoming a Division Manager. He then went on to receive his MBA from Rutgers University in 2005. In 2000, Mike joined United States Cold Storage as a Senior Project Engineer. He was named Director of Engineering in 2009 and Vice President of Engineering in 2011. He has been actively involved in the acquisition of new properties, construction of new and existing refrigerated warehouses, and drives sustainable development initiatives for his company. He holds an Executive Board position as Treasurer of the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR), as well as, being a Board member with the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO). Mike is a long time member of the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR), the Refrigeration Engineers and Technicians Association (RETA), and the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW). 

Brandon Marshall

Brandon Marshall is a refrigeration expert with over 12 years of experience in the design and implementation of high-efficiency systems utilizing a wide variety of today’s natural refrigerant offering and advanced control technology. Brandon has a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania College of technology, an affiliate school of Penn State.

In his current role, Brandon is responsible for the management and implementation of CAREL's energy saving solutions in the food service and retail manufacturing sector. Recently, Brandon has focused on assisting manufacturers in successfully incorporating natural refrigerants into their product lines.

Scott Martin

Scott Martin currently serves as Director, Business Development and Industry Relations for Hillphoenix, a Dover Company, located in Conyers, Georgia. A third generation Refrigeration Engineer, Scott received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University in 1985.

Scott has held a wide variety of industry roles including Product Manager, Director of R&D, Engineering, and most recently Director of Sustainable Technologies. Today, Scott’s focus reflects a strong Hillphoenix commitment to providing product and technology answers that help retailers supply higher quality food products while advancing efforts toward environmental stewardship.

Scott Melton

Scott Melton, graduated from JM Perry Technical Institute as Journeyman Pipe fitter, has 29 years in the Ammonia Refrigeration Industry as a Service Tech. He also worked as a  Compliance, Training and Special Projects Manager at Central Washington Refrigeration. Scott Melton has experience as Chief of Operations and Training at Ammonia Safety and Training. He is a National Safety Day Lead Instructor, RETA Member, IIAR Member and Business owner.

John Miles

John Miles is General Manager of the Eco Systems division for Sanden International USA, and is responsible for sales and support of the first commercially available Residential CO2 Heat Pump Water Heater in North America.
Mr. Miles is currently based in Southern California, Sanden has additional sales locations in Detroit MI, and a sales and manufacturing facility in Wylie TX.

The SANCO2 Heat Pump Water heater is based on Eco Cute technology and features the highest efficiency and First Hour rating of any HPWH presently sold in North America. Product is sold nationally in the US and Canada, and is installed by both plumbers and HVAC contractors.
Mr. Miles is a 25 year veteran of the HVAC industry, having started his career as a Design Draughtsman for Airedale International in Leeds, England. 
Prior to joining Sanden Mr. Miles was most recently Chief Product Officer at Quietside/Samsung where he was responsible for all aspects of Product engineering, governmental and regulatory issues, factory, field technical support, training and OEM support for a variety of HVAC products.

Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller, CMS, RCT has a B.S. Degree in Education from California University and a M. Ed. Degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is retired after having taught HVAC&R for over 35 years at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh PA. Prior to CCAC, he was a Factory Representative for both York and Gibson Products. He is an ASHRAE member, a CMS member in RSES and serves as a reviewer of RSES and ACCA Society Publications. He is Region 2 Director for RSES and an RCT for RSES. Mr. Miller has NATE Certifications and is a trainer/proctor for NATE Certifications. He operates a family owned property rental business and KAM Associates, an HAC consulting business.

Patrick Moore

Patrick Moore is a Mechanical Engineer with extensive field and management experience within the Utility field. He is the Agricultural and Industrial Lead Product Manager for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Patrick works with industry players like policy makers, manufacturers, distributors, and direct customers to create energy efficient market changes through innovative products and programs.

Caleb Nelson

Caleb Nelson is a licensed mechanical engineer who has specialized in refrigeration system design for the past 11 years. In Caleb’s career, he has helped bridge the gap with ammonia between industrial and commercial systems through his work in innovative retail projects. In his current role as Vice President for Azane, Inc., he continues to help broaden the use of ammonia by applying low-charge systems to industrial and non-industrial facilities. Caleb has been published several times through his contribution to design and commissioning guides, technical papers and articles, and has presented at various conferences across the US and in Europe regarding the use of natural refrigerants.

Jeff Newel

Jeff Newel is the Director of Research and Development for the Hillphoenix Systems division. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University and an MBA from the University of Georgia. Jeff has been designing refrigeration and cooling systems for over 25 years. The last 19 years he has been with Hillphoenix, where he has worked in various roles in support of supermarket, commercial, and light industrial refrigeration customers. He and his team continue Hillphoenix’s focus on developing and improving the current and next generation of supermarket refrigeration systems, with a particular focus on systems utilizing natural refrigerants.

Andre Patenaude

Andre is responsible for developing the North American marketing and growth development strategy pertaining to Emerson’s food retail and chiller business.
He was most recently responsible for Emerson’s global CO2development efforts. 
Andre has more than 33 years of industry experience in sales, marketing, training and business development of HVACR systems and applications.

Nicola Pieretti

After graduating in Electronic Engineering from Padua University, Nicola Pieretti joined CAREL working as an Application Manager for food retail refrigeration field controllers.

He is currently in charge of the development and deployment of electronic controllers dedicated to centralized supermarket. and  he is defining market strategies, proposing new solutions  and supporting the sales network with technical and application consulting prior to sale, and a sales context, in roles that involve direct customer management and help define the sales strategy.During the past years he has been focusing on CO₂ transcritical application development worldwide.

Giacomo Pisano

After obtaining his Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2002, Giacomo Pisano worked for one year as a Project Manager for General Electric's Oil & Gas division, where the core business is turbomachinery applied to the oil & gas industry. He joined DORIN in 2003 in the R&D department, taking responsibility of the CO₂ compressor development and being in charge of the product's technical qualification. Giacomo Pisano then took over several application engineering roles and is currently responsible for the CO₂ compressors' business development. In the meantime he joined several ASERCOM working groups and was the Chairman for the association's CO₂ working group for many years.

John Prall

John Prall studied at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. In 2012, Prall accepted his current position with Embraco, working as a Technical Support Engineer for the United States and Canada. At Embraco, Prall’s responsibilities include providing engineering technical support for commercial and aftermarket customers, including assisting customers with the selection and application of hermetic compressors. Prall also trains customers on compressor technology and market trends through customer visits, trade show presentations and webinar activities. Prall has over 14 years of experience in the commercial refrigeration industry. Prior to his role at Embraco, he held several different roles ranging from engineering to product management at Hussmann Corporation.

Benoit Rodier

Benoit holds a BS Mechanical Engineering from Sherbrooke University and is a licensed Professional Engineer. Benoit started his career as an HVAC Manufacturer Rep and Sales Manager for heat exchangers and industrial compressors. He was recruited by Cimco in 1999 where he has held various positions, including Sales Manager, General Manager, and Director of Business Development. Benoit has worked with natural refrigerants for over 20 years. He is involved in many local and regional trade associations. Benoit was the driving force for CIMCO to evolve towards CO₂ refrigeration and new technologies while maintaining its leadership position in ammonia industrial and recreative market.

Chris Roman

Christopher Roman holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Political Science, & Philosophy from the University of Akron, in Akron Ohio. He also holds the CEM and CDSM certifications from the Assertion of Energy Engineers. Over the last 10 years Chris has worked in the Energy Efficiency and Demand Response sector and has been with SDG&E since 2012. While at SDG&E Chris has managed the ASHRAE Level II Audit Program, the Technology Incentive Program, and for the last three years Chris has been in the Emerging Technology Department where he tests new products and services that have the ability to change the way we think about energy management.

Dave Rule

Dave Rule is the President of IIAR, an organization committed to the advancement of natural refrigerants in refrigeration and air conditioning systems throughout the world. As President, Dave leads a broad membership of industry professionals representing design engineers, end users, contractors, manufacturers, academics and scientists that share their collective knowledge and experience to produce consensus documents and materials to support the safe use of natural refrigerants in the refrigeration industry. These programs include an ANSI approved standards writing body, advocacy programs working with the regulatory community and the building and fire code agencies, and a comprehensive education program to ensure the safe and efficient use of natural refrigerants in all applications.

Prior to joining IIAR as president, Dave served as Vice President of Refrigeration Sales and Marketing in the U.S. for one of the leading companies in the design and manufacture of energy and water saving equipment for the refrigeration industry. Prior to this position, he served as the International Vice President responsible for manufacturing and sales operations. 

Hayato Sakamoto

Hayato Sakamoto is the Assistant Manager of Engineering and Development section. He has 14 years of experience in design and development of turbomachines such as centrifugal blowers and compressors. In 2007, he joined the development team of water refrigerant centrifugal chiller and played an integral role of the development and the commercialization of Kawasaki turbo chiller using R718(water) as a refrigerant. After the launch of this new chiller, he has been engaged in the improvement of technologies and the market development.

Yasushi (Kelly) Sasaki

Kelly has been with Mayekawa for over 30 years. His experiences range from servicing the systems to leading product development/commercialization teams for refrigeration, food processing and oil & gas industries.

Pete Savage

AAA Refrigeration headquartered in Bronx NY with satellite offices in Connecticut and New Jersey is celebrating their 80^th year. Pete began with AAA Refrigeration in 2005 as a service technician and controls installer. In 2010 he transitioned to management.

Jürgen Süß

Jürgen joined Efficient Energy in December 2013 and is currently the CEO of the company. From early 2011, he served as Managing Director and CEO at Cofely Refrigeration in Lindau, Germany. This company is part of the GDF Suez Group and manufactures products and solutions for the industrial refrigeration segment. Previously, Jürgen had a 13-year assignment at Danfoss A/S in Denmark, where his last role was Vice President R&D of controls and line components for all kinds of refrigeration equipment. Before this, he held various management positions within technology and business development at Danfoss. Jürgen has a Ph.D. in Refrigeration from Hannover University and is active in the IIR, ASHRAE, and other scientific committees and associations.

John S. Scherer

John Scherer has specialized in ice, cold storage and food distribution facility design, construction and operations for 35 years. During this time, Mr. Scherer’s designs, systems and related equipment have shipped to seven countries. John is a past National President of RETA (Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association) and originator of RETA’s certification program for industrial refrigeration plant operators and technicians.

Mr. Scherer holds five United States patents and their fifteen international counterparts, all relative to food, water and power sustainability. Particular emphasis is placed on high efficiency, economical ammonia absorption and ammonia compression refrigeration systems. His most recent patent and patents pending form the basis of NXTCOLDTM ERIC (Electronic Refrigerant Injection Control) VLC (Very Low Charge) ammonia refrigeration technology.

Lori Schiavo

Lori Schiavo is the Executive Vice President for RSES, the HVACR Training Authority. She has been with the organization since 2007 when she started working on the Society’s flagship publication, RSES Journal. In that role for nearly 10 years, she has worked with the gamut of professionals in the HVACR industry. Prior to RSES, Schiavo has a long history in the B2B publishing which includes positions on magazines in the mining, printing and construction industries, among others.

Yoram Shabtay

With 20 years of experience, Yoram Shabtay is a Heat Exchanger Designer veteran with a Master’s degree in Heat and Mass Transfer. Shabtay is the head of consulting firm Heat Transfer Technologies LLC (HTT) and as a licensed HVAC engineer, provides designs for current and new condenser and evaporator coils. HTT is also the official Technical Advisor to the International Copper Association, providing guidance and designs for all types of HVAC and refrigeration systems. He regularly speaks at conferences about new upcoming heat-exchanger technologies and related development work. HTT also works with industry leaders providing prototype heat-exchanger service for evaluation.

Mark Skierkiewicz

Mark is a Staff Engineer at UL with over 11 years’ experience with a background in evaluating/investigating heat pump, air conditioning, ventilation, and process cooling products for domestic and international markets. Mark also has knowledge of U.S. and international regulatory standards and approval requirements. He is a Member of ASHRAE and participates in ASHRAE Low GWP. MTG and TC5.10. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois.

Peter Strait

Peter Strait is the supervisor of the Standards Development Unit within the California Energy Commission's Building Standards Office.  He oversees the team of engineers responsible for the triennial updates to Part 6 of California's Building Code, which houses California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards.  Previously, Peter worked for several years in the Energy Commission's Appliance Efficiency Program, assisting equipment manufacturers in certifying products and complying with State and federal appliance and equipment standards.

John Stuit

John Stuit has 33 years of experience as an engineer in the supermarket industry. He is currently chief of design and construction at the Defense Commissary Agency which operates a chain of 240 supermarkets on military bases worldwide. Mr. Stuit has enjoyed working with manufactures to place very low GWP refrigeration solutions into place including several transcritical CO₂ systems in a variety of climates in the United States and an ammonia/CO₂ cascade system. Mr. Stuit has a degree in mechanical engineering from Dordt College.

Steve Trulaske

Steve is the Owner of True Manufacturing Co., a firm that was co-founded by his father, Bob, in 1945 and has its headquarters in O’Fallon, MO. True Manufacturing is a leader and innovator in the refrigeration business and has offices domestically and internationally. Steve joined the family’s commercial refrigeration business, in 1982 and since that time he has taken on many different assignments in his career involving finance, product strategy and international market development.

Steve grew up in St. Louis, and then went to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in English. He then earned a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration and an MBA Degree, both from the Ohio State University. Currently, his civic and charitable activities include serving on the board of the Robert J. Trulaske College of Business, a member of the Board of Directors for the Weber Grill Company, and an active member of the World Presidents organization and the CEO organization.

Chris Vallis

Chris Vallis is Technical Director at AB Group Inc., a multi award-winning independent consultancy based in the UK, working direct for end users to analyse, innovate & advance; with a specialisation in refrigeration.

Chris say’s ‘I’m very passionate about our industry. Recognising its growing importance in modern society and the interconnected Economic, Environmental and Social factors. The expanding applications, innovation & emerging technologies in the ongoing Green Transformation makes me proud and excited about the future of our sector’.

Klaas Visser

Klaas Visser has an extensive international experience in the design, building and trouble shooting of medium to large ammonia systems with involvement in more than 800 NH3 projects during the past 45 years.

The world’s first Multi Function 2 Stage Transcritical CO2 Refrigerating System with Parallel Compression (MF2STCCO2RSPC) has now been operating seven years, performing six cooling and nine heating functions at a small food processing plant.
Commissioning of the second MR2STCC02RSPC system near Sydney has been delayed. It is the first CO2 system in the world employing an evaporative condenser/gas cooler (ECGC). 
A case study comparing ECGCs and Adiabatically Assisted Air Cooled CO2 Gas Coolers in terms of their Energy and Water Consumption and the COP Improvement of the refrigeration systems at ambient Wet Bulb Temperatures up to 28 degrees C – not exceeded in 98% of the World’s climates - achieving 31 degrees C Gas Cooler Exit Temperature.   
The design of a MF2STCC02RSPC with an ECGC for a −30°C 40,000 cubic metre cold store near Kuala Lumpur is complete and waiting for building approval.

Gerard Von Dohlen

Gerard is currently the CEO of a company operating 2 public refrigerated warehouses in the New York area installing innovative refrigeration systems. He is an active member of several trade associations including the Global Cold Chain Alliance for whom he chairs the Refrigeration and Energy Committee. One of the public refrigerated warehouses uses natural gas engine driven compressors and a brine desiccant system using waste heat for regeneration instead of hot gas defrost evaporators. The system won the Chairman’s Award at the American Gas Cooling Center for the best natural gas based refrigeration system in the country. Gerard is also building a fully automated crane building with 20,000 pallets refrigerated by a system including a cooling tower, chiller package, and desiccant.

Gerard received a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering in 1964 and an MBA (1966) and a PhD (1970) from Columbia University’s Graduate Business School. Gerard taught accounting and finance at Columbia’s business school until he entered the banking community. Subsequent to a career in banking, he has been the CEO of a building products company, a defense contractor, a hotel company, and now a public refrigerated warehouse.

Tom Wolgamot

Tom Wolgamot is a Principal of DC Engineering and works out of Missoula, Montana. He is a licensed PE in eighteen states, and has over 25 years of experience in facility engineering and project management. Tom has led a wide variety of design work from commercial HVAC to campus heating and cooling plants. Tom currently is active on two ASHRAE Refrigeration Technical Committees; 10.1 Custom Engineered Refrigeration Systems and 10.8 Refrigeration Load Calculations.

He really enjoys working in the supermarket refrigeration sector and is proud to be contributing to the industry with a focus on sustainable practices. The heightened interest in reducing carbon footprints through energy efficiency, commissioning, and alternative refrigerants has been especially rewarding. Prior to providing consulting services, Tom was the Director of Engineering for Albertsons, Inc. where he developed the appreciation and skills for balancing fiscal realities with on-going maintenance, energy, and environmental requirements.

Marek Zgliczynski

Marek Zgliczynski studied at the Turin Politechnic in Italy where he earned his degree in mechanical engineering. In 1979, after completing his degree, Marek began his career as a researcher and project leader of new product development at Aspera Spa. 

A few years later, Marek transitioned to Embraco, becoming the Manager of Compressor Design. His successful efforts led to many promotions, including European Commercial Product and Technology Manager, Commercial Refrigeration Product Corporate Director and Corporate Fellow Researcher for the Commercial Refrigeration Segment. 

His main responsibility includes the development of household and light commercial refrigeration products. He also provides technical assistance to the sales team in order to promote Embraco products that align with customer feedback. 

Throughout his career, Marek has earned three U.S. patents and Gold Whirlpool Quality Team Award and he has published several pieces of literature for international conferences and events about refrigeration technology. In 2016, he was elected to a Chair of the IEC/SC61C Committee, in charge of the development of international product safety standards for refrigeration segment. He is also member in several other standardization bodies like ISO TC86/SC1/WG1, CEN TC182WG6 and WG12, IEC SC61DWG16 and UL STP471, Ashrae Member.