A.J. Nahmad promoted to president of Watsco

Watsco, the world’s largest distributor of air conditioning and heating equipment, announced Friday that Aaron J. (A.J.) Nahmad has been named president.

A.J. Nahmad, 34, had been vice president of Strategy & Innovation for Miami-based Watsco since July 2010, and, before that, he was director of Global Business Development since 2005. He has been a member of Watsco’s board since November 2011. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.B.A. from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. A.J. Nahmad is the son of Albert Nahmad, Watsco’s chairman, president and CEO since 1973. His appointment was unanimously approved by independent members of Watsco’s Board of Directors and is effective immediately.

Since 2012 and under A.J. Nahmad’s leadership, Watsco has actively increased investments in a number of scalable technologies, and has added more than 170 new technology-focused employees. Some of the innovations that Watsco has created are mobile apps and other e-commerce tools, data analytics to enable more insightful management decision-making; and supply chain optimization tools. The goals of the innovation strategy are to further strengthen Watsco’s leadership position in the marketplace, accelerate sales and profit growth through innovation, increase the speed and convenience of serving customers and extend Watsco’s reach into new geographies and sales channels, the company said.

A.J. Nahmad will also assume leadership for a number of day-to-day tactical duties previously the responsibility of Albert Nahmad. Albert Nahmad will retain his roles as Watsco’s chairman and CEO focused on the company’s long-term vision, culture and strategic objectives.

Watsco, with nearly $4 billion in revenue in 2014, serves about 88,000 customers in 566 locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and on an export basis to Latin America and the Caribbean.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 1:11 PM.