Danny Chan
The finalists for the 2020 AIRAH Awards have been announced. This year, the awards ceremony will be held as a virtual event on Tuesday, November 10.
The winners will be announced at the online awards ceremony, as part of AIRAH’s Outlook 2020 International HVAC&R Conference. The conference will be a full-day virtual event featuring three keynote speakers, two panel sessions, five streams, a networking café, and more than 30 speakers.
One of the categories that celebrate talents across the spectrum of the HVAC&R industry is the Future Leader award.
Sponsored by A.G. Coombs this year, the award recognises emerging leaders in any facet of the industry, and may include engineers, designers and drafters, project managers and supervisors, tradespeople, commissioning and maintenance technicians, technical sales people and other industry participants.
“AIRAH’s Future Leader award acknowledges the hard work and achievements of the emerging talents in our midst,” says AIRAH CEO Tony Gleeson, M.AIRAH.
“We commend all the nominees and look forward to seeing what they do next.”
This year’s finalists are:
Grace Foo, M.AIRAH
As a female Asian migrant, Foo is a living example of how our industry can be challenged to leverage diversity to maximise outcomes. Despite setbacks early in her career where she recalls being dismissed “out of hand” by the site team during her first site inspection, Foo redirected that negative experience to influence the built environment.
Since then, she has coordinated multi-disciplinary commissioning teams for greenfield and brownfield projects, developed and implemented energy-efficiency upgrade strategies, and prepares and delivers professional training sessions related to energy efficiency, NABERS and CBD.
Foo has played a pivotal role in government policy development work, such as the 2019 Section J revision, expansion of NABERS to other sectors, impact of changing climate on building energy and design, and future-proofing buildings for integration of distributed energy resources.
James Goard, Affil.AIRAH
Goard joined Actrol five years ago as the first mechanical engineering graduate to take part in the Reece Graduate program. The intention was to enhance the sales and applications engineering team by blending experienced trade- and diploma-qualified refrigeration engineers with mechanical engineering graduates.
Throughout the graduate program, Goard picked up practical experience, linking this with his extensive theoretical knowledge. He employed these new practical skills to communicate with confidence and creativity.
This clear communication enabled Goard to build strong interpersonal relationships with Actrol staff and customers. His positive focus and drive as a leader has inspired his peers.
The emerging technologies and sustainable solutions Goard employs highlights his leadership as an adopter and innovator.
Steven Williams, Affil.AIRAH
Williams joined Cold Logic in 2006 at the age of 19. After starting as an apprentice, he gradually moved through the ranks of technician and senior technician in the company until he reached the position of SA service supervisor, which he currently holds.
In his role, Williams is the second-in-charge of South Australia’s largest industrial refrigeration service department, directly reporting to the national service manager and acting in his manager’s role during times of absence. He is part of the senior leadership group, and actively engages in mentoring Cold Logic’s junior staff and apprentices and tracking their progression.
Additionally, Williams is a dedicated liaison for a large number of clients, especially around planning and executing large service and shutdown work packages.
The AIRAH Awards 2020 will be held as a free-admission virtual event on Tuesday November 10 at 4.30pm (NSW, Vic, ACT, Tas) | 4pm (SA) | 3.30pm (Qld) | 3pm (NT) | 1.30pm (WA).
For more information and to register for the Awards ceremony, click here.
Pictured left to right: Grace Foo, James Goard and Steven Williams.
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