DAIKIN APPLIED - Key Persons


Brad Hottel

Job Titles:
  • Senior HVAC Instructor
Brad started with Daikin in 2011 as a Service Technician and was promoted to a Service Supervisor in Houston, TX and later transferred to Des Moines, IA. Brad will continue to live in the Des Moines area and travel to support DLI HVAC instruction.

Chad McDearmon

Job Titles:
  • HVAC Instructor
Chad has 26 years of industry experience. He brings positive displacement expertise to DLI. He has focused on our Air-Cooled Chiller prod-uct line and has spent the last 4 years working with our Chiller Technical Response Center.

Christy Jones

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Instructor
Christy has over 51 years of experience in the HVAC industry. Twenty-five of those 51 years have been spent working with Daikin Applied in various capacities including as a Service Technician, Regional Trainer, and Remote Instructor.

Donald Hogue

Job Titles:
  • Senior HVAC Instructor
Don joined Daikin Learning in 2019 and has been with the company 6 years. Don has with 32 years of industrial electrical field experience, 28 years working within the HVAC industry.

Jeff Johnson

Job Titles:
  • Senior HVAC Instructor
Jeff is in his 6th year with Daikin. He came to us with over 31 years of experience in the industry. During his time here, Jeff has trained over 280 Engineers and Technicians on HVAC design theory; educated over 111 Graduate Engineer Trainees on the Design Principles of HVAC, Refrigeration, Airside Design and Chiller Plants; and has developed curriculum that makes complex theories easy to understand.

Kim Benson

Job Titles:
  • Training / LMS Administrator
Kim began her career with Daikin Learning in 2013. Here she has been instrumental in applying our LMS systems, scheduling training and managing logistics. Prior to joining Daikin Applied, Kim worked in hospitality as an event manager where she gained valuable experience in customer service and planning.

Larry Heyer

Job Titles:
  • Senior HVAC Instructor
Larry started with Daikin Applied first as the Southeast Regional Service Trainer before joining Daikin Learning. He has worked in service operations, supervision, nuclear power operation and formal technical training as a naval instructor. He develops training programs and presentations.

Laura Masica

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director
As a Learning and Development leader with 20+ years of business experience, Laura drives business results by creating innovative solutions in education through the integration of technology and unleashing the potential of each individual and their unique skills and capabilities.

Linda Custer

Job Titles:
  • Training / LMS Administrator
Linda began her career with Daikin Applied over 28 years ago. She has spent 20 years working with the Daikin Learning. With experience in scheduling, logistics and design, Linda has successfully managed all aspects of training administration. Linda was instrumental in the application and fulfillment of achieving accreditation through the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET).

Perry Thompson

Job Titles:
  • Content Developer
Perry has been a technical service writer at Daikin Applied for six years. He has over 20 years of experience in CAD design and custom software development for multiple industries.

Steve Selgestad

Job Titles:
  • Learning Operations Manager, Senior HVAC Instructor
Steve has over 40 years of experience in the HVAC industry, 25 of which has been working with Daikin Applied as a remote Factory Service Technician, a Regional Trainer, and most recently the Service Training Manager with the Daikin Learning. Steve is a certified instructor for Daikin Screw, Centrifugal, and WMC and WME magnetic bearing chillers. He has also worked with Daikin Applied Technical Response Center to develop software manuals for Daikin WMC product.

Tom Dickinson

Job Titles:
  • Senior HVAC Instructor
Tom has over 33 years of experience working within the HVACR industry in various roles such as Controls Technician, Application Engineer, Project Manager, Technical Instructor, and Manager of Technical Training.

Tony Blake

Job Titles:
  • Senior HVAC Instructor
Tony has over 24 years of experience with Daikin. He joined Daikin Learning transferring from the Daikin Applied Richmond Service office. Tony worked as a Senior Technical Support Specialist in the Chiller Technical Response Center; he has technical experience with chillers and practical experience in field service and customer relations; is bi-lingual and develops training programs and presentations in Spanish for our Latin American customers.

Traye Hogge

Job Titles:
  • Senior Manager, Learning Operations
Traye began his career with Daikin in 2011 as a Technical Support Analyst. He has over 20 years of industry experience. 10 of which were in the field as a service technician repairing equipment. Traye joined the Daikin Learning in 2017, assuming management responsibility for operations and deployment.