PARTNER CONTENT
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“ I joined American Electrical as a project manager in 2012 and gradually progressed to more senior roles ,” David opens . “ In 2016 , the owner of the business was taking a step back and the leadership team hired an external body to explore new management from both inside and outside of the business . We went through a round of extensive interviews , and they ultimately identified me as the future leader , and so I was announced as COO .
“ As part of this role , I took over the management of our operations and although my title did not reflect my responsibility , I essentially ran the business for eight years before my title change to President and CEO in 2023 . However , the only thing that really changed was the title ; my role and responsibilities remained as they had been since 2016 .”
Innovation and expansion
When asked about his priorities and vision for the company , David continues : “ My number one focus is culture , especially considering the multi-generational workforce we ’ re currently battling with . We ’ ve got one generation on the cusp of exiting the industry in large numbers as they retire , and another generation who have sought careers via college and aren ’ t interested in trades . To help mitigate this , we ’ re part of a larger movement to help expose younger generations to the construction trade through apprenticeships and technical training .
“ It ’ s a very transitional time in the construction industry and I believe that emphasizing a positive working culture is not only key to attracting new talent , but critical to the success of any trade-based business moving forward ,” David suggests . “ We ’ re tasked with adapting to both losing a traditional workforce we ’ ve relied upon for decades , and then also attracting a new generation to the business .
“ Secondly , we ’ re striving for scalability through financial discipline ,” he states . “ To build the strongest possible financial position , we ’ ve focused on retaining earnings to give us the liquidity we need to scale the business . Lastly , my third goal is innovation and expansion , which includes incorporating AI and new technologies into our operations , as well as expanding into other markets through mergers and acquisitions .”
Consumer focus
As talk turns to current challenges facing the market , David shares his views on the Inflation Reduction Act ( IRA ). “ Overregulation is one of the key issues in the industry , and we ’ re part of several trade organizations that are fighting overregulation of the private construction industry ,” he explains . “ Bills like the IRA have specific requirements that only 11 percent of all US contractors meet , so we ’ re not able to participate in constructing the buildings of the future .
“ Instead , our focus is the consumer . We ’ re part of grassroots campaigns in partnership with Tesla , where we work closely with dealerships to support consumers through their EV journey . We ’ re certified to install Tesla chargers , but we also support customers in operating and maintaining their chargers . We ’ re also working with hotel groups , as well as negotiating with a fast-food chain , to install multiple EV chargers in parking lots .
“ There ’ s also news of a major US gas station that is planning to convert a large portion of gas stations across Alabama , Georgia , and Florida into EV-only stations ,” he adds . “ Although this project is still in its infancy , we ’ re preparing the business and enhancing our capabilities to hopefully win this project and other similar conversions as the US continues to adopt EVs .”
56