A. O. Smith Corporation, a leader in water heating and water treatment, has announced that Dave Warren, senior vice president, president and general manager of North America Water Heating (NAWH), will retire April 1. Steve O’Brien, senior vice president, president, and general manager of Lochinvar, has been named Warren’s successor. Darrell Schuh, vice president and general manager of water systems and APCOM, will replace O’Brien. 

Warren was named president and general manager of the North America Water Heating business unit in July 2017. In this role, Dave has profit and loss responsibility for the 10 brands that make up the operation and oversees the unit’s 4,860 employees at facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Warren has held many roles since joining A. O. Smith as a sales coordinator in 1989, including serving as vice president of A. O. Smith’s International businesses.

“In each step of Dave’s career, he brought high energy, great leadership and strategic vision, and consistently grew the business,” said Kevin Wheeler, chairman, president and CEO. “We thank Dave for his dedication to A. O. Smith, his leadership and steadfast commitment to the values and principles of our organization over his long tenure. With Dave stepping down and Steve and Darrell moving into their new roles, we have a solid succession plan in place, which allows for internal promotions of our talented leaders and a strategy to transition them to their new roles to ensure leadership and business continuity.”

O’Brien previously worked for A. O. Smith Electrical Products Company for 14 years before the company was sold to Regal Beloit Corporation. He later joined Mitsubishi Electric TRANE HVAC as senior vice president where he gained extensive knowledge in the HVAC industry. He rejoined 

A. O. Smith in April of 2022 as the president of Lochinvar.

“Steve’s experience in running multiple P&Ls throughout his career and his proven leadership abilities uniquely qualify him to serve in this role,” Wheeler said.

Schuh joined A. O. Smith in 1991 and prior to his current role, spent 12 years as vice president of product engineering in Ashland City, Tennessee, and director of product engineering for the commercial water heating group located in McBee, South Carolina. In 2006, Darrell transferred to the water heating business unit from A. O. Smith Electrical Products division.

“Darrell’s extensive background in engineering and business leadership will strengthen our Lochinvar business and presence in the market,” Wheeler said. “I am confident these transitions will be seamless and move the company forward.”