COMFORT-AIR ENGINEERING - Key Persons
Aaron graduated from Texas Tech University in December of 2020 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduating, Aaron obtained his EIT certification in May of 2021. Aaron joined Freund Enterprises as an intern in July of 2021 where he shadowed the operations team. He was then promoted as a Project Engineer in December 2021.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Project Management Team
- Project Manager
With over 25 years of experience in the HVAC industry, Abel joined the CAE team in 2000 as a field mechanic. Quickly showing his skills as a leader, he was promoted to lead foreman, then Superintendent, and most recently to Project Manager for both CAE/PPI in 2017. He has been crossed trained in Plumbing and has completed a 4-year plumbing apprenticeship as well. Abel is also responsible for building job schedules for each project and communicates with the general contractor and his field guys to bring each project under budget. Abel loves to fish, hunt, and spend quality time with his family when he is not working hard. He also has a real passion for BBQ competitions and is the pit boss for the award-winning team Real Smoke BBQ.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Account Manager
- Member of the Sales Management Team
Adam has over 20 years of experience in the HVAC industry. He has field experience and technical knowledge, specializing in chillers and controls. He has recently joined our team as a commercial account manager. In this role, he will be managing our preferred commercial maintenance accounts. Providing great customer service, quotes for repairs, and helping the customers maintain optimal HVAC performance from their equipment.
A graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, Alex spent four years as a carpenter before joining our team in 1985. Alex's journey includes nine years HVAC Construction, ten years running our sheet metal fabrication dept., seven years Project manager for our Replacement Dept., two years Superintendent for HVAC/Plumbing Construction dept. From 2014 to - Present, Alex has served as our full-time Safety Director. Alex is an Authorized OSHA 10- and 30-hour trainer and has an SSH (Specialist in Safety and Health) certification from The University of Texas at Arlington training institute.
Job Titles:
- Service Operations Manager
Austin started with CAE in the replacement department in 2003. His knowledge and technical skills enabled him to move into service, where he excelled in residential and commercial equipment. Austin then helped establish the building automation division in 2008. He has Tridium A.X. and N4 certifications and Carrier CS and I.S. certifications and was promoted to the building automation manager position in 2013.
Job Titles:
- Senior Commercial Account Manager
Brad was initially hired to support service sales but quickly showed leadership and a passion for customer service. He has now been promoted to Commercial Account Manager, where he is responsible for account managing for our preferred commercial maintenance accounts and acquiring new Commercial Accounts. Brad graduated from Texas Tech University with a BS in 2009.
Chris first joined CAE/PPI in 2016 as an Intern, where he grew a strong interest in the construction industry shadowing the operations team. After graduating from Texas Tech in 2017 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, he joined full-time and now leads on design/build projects while also assisting Project Managers and Superintendents with pre-construction tasks and engineering decisions in the Construction Operations Team.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Board
- First 3rd Generation Team Member
- VP, Construction Operations
As our first 3rd generation team member, Clint graduated from Texas Tech in 2008 with a BSME. After graduation, he worked with Zachry Industrial before returning to the family company in 2010. Clint is one of the licensed engineers we have on staff and is the leading General Manager for the construction teams.
Hired initially as a helper in 2005, Daniel was a quick learner and took pride in his workmanship and customer service. He was promoted to a service tech in 2008, providing service maintenance and diagnostics to our residential customer base. In December of 2011, Daniel was promoted to Replacement Manager and then to our Service Operations Manager. Recently, Daniel transferred to our add-on replacement department as our residential sales consultant.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Sales Management Team
- Outside Sales Manager
With over 15 years of experience in new home sales and HVAC replacement sales, David knows what makes a home comfortable and energy-efficient. A graduate of Building Performance Institute, David manages our general operations for this department. He graduated from Texas Tech in 1992 with a B.S. degree.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Manager
- Member of the Operations Team
Debra was initially hired in 2004 as our receptionist (also known as the Gatekeeper). She has worked in many roles during her tenure here, from the receptionist to accounts payable, to her current role as Human Resources Manager. Debra is the company socialite, representing our company by volunteering with many industry events and organizations. In addition, she plays a critical role in bringing the company together by organizing employee engagement and external activities. She has a get'r done attitude and is the go-to for managing the staff and accomplishing complex tasks on hand.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Sales Management Team
- Inside Sales
Drew Scroggins is a graduate from the University of Texas at San Antonio in Finance, where he began his career at Frost bank. While in school, he worked for his father at Scroggins A/C Service, doing installs and learning about the industry. After working for2 years at Frost Bank, Drew decided to get back into the HVAC industry and left Frost Bank to be an Inside Salesperson at Insco Distributing. With seven years experience in the HVAC industry, Drew joined Comfort-Air Eng in January of 2016 as a commercial account manager.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Project Management Team
- Project Manager
Enrique joined CAE/PPI as an intern while working towards finalizing his college degree at UTSA. Upon graduation in 2019 with a B.S. in Construction Science and Management, he became a full-time employee. Enrique forms part of the construction operations team and in his free time, he enjoys riding the Hill Country on horseback.
A 1st generation college graduate from UTSA in 2015 with a degree in Construction Science & Management, Gabe began his career with CAE/PPI as an intern to shadow the Operations Team on both Plumbing and HVAC. With the knowledge he gained during this period, he decided to join CAE/PPI full time upon graduation and has become a major contributor in our estimating department.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Sales Management Team
- Residential Business Development
Grace graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Media Industries from the College of Mass Communications in May of 2020. She was hired as a CSR with Freund Enterprises in July of 2021 and grew her responsibilities within our service department. She was promoted in December of 2022 to Residential Account Manager and Business Development, where she now works closely with sales and marketing teams. Grace also serves as our company photographer.
Job Titles:
- FINANCIAL ANALYST
- Member of the Operations Team
As Patrick's son, Josh grew up cleaning the office on the weekends and scrapping A/C units in the summer, but after graduating with an MBA with a finance concentration from Dallas Baptist University in 2018, he has moved into a financial analysis and reporting position. He is the 2nd Gen 3 member of Freund Enterprises and helps support the other staff teams by performing accounting functions and providing helpful performance & sales reports.
Justin has always enjoyed doing anything mechanical/technical. He built his first computer at 15 years old and re-built his first car engine at 21. Justin worked in the HVAC industry for three years before finding his home at CAE in 2012. Starting out as a junior mechanic, Justin asked many questions and sought out any training classes available to better himself and his career, acquiring his NATE certification, ACCA manual d/j certification, OSHA 10, and various other certifications. Justin was promoted to Senior mechanic in 2014 and was recently promoted to Replacement Manager.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager
- Member of the Operations Team
Katy was hired in 2008 as accounts payable clerk. During her time in this position, she transitioned our A.P. system to primarily paperless. She left the company in 2014 to broaden her knowledge in accounting. She was recruited back to Comfort Air in 2017 in the role of accounting manager, taking on many of Andrea's roles with the company as she transitioned into retirement.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Sales Management Team
- Plumbing Sales
Hired as a service plumber in 2008, Keith came to Primo Plumbing with 17 years of experience and has been instrumental in growing our service department over the past 13 years. With 30+ years' experience, Keith is still the most requested by our customers and has transitioned into sales and estimating for the service department and the day-to-day responsibilities as service manager. Keith has also been elected to the Board of the PHCC and is actively involved with the training and education of upcoming plumbing apprentice's Keith earned his master's license (M#40229) in January 2012.
Matt has both a B.S. and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas. After working in the automotive and medical device industries for a combined 15 years, Matt joined the family business in 2000 and was elected President/CEO in 2001. Matt is also an Adjunct Professor at UTSA in the Department of Construction Science. In his spare time, Matt enjoys bay fishing and pickleball.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Board
- VP, Technology
Mike joined CAE in 1991, quickly working his way up from the field to Superintendent, to Project Manager, to the leader of Construction Operations for both CAE and PPI. After years of serving as an operations manager, Mike took over our IT Management and Cybersecurity as well as Fleet Management.
A Texas-EX in 1990 with a BBA in marketing, Patrick cut his teeth as a Brand Manager with Frito-Lay and Ozarka Water. In April of 2000, Patrick moved back to San Antonio, along with his brother Matt, to become part of Gen2 with his brother Scott and cousin Tom. Patrick heads up the sales and marketing for FEI and is also the Responsible Master Plumber for Primo Plumbing. In his free time, Pat serves as Chairman on the Riverside Community Church Board of Directors and longs to break 80 on the golf course.
Job Titles:
- Plumbing Service Supervisor
Phil has 25 years of experience in the plumbing trade since beginning his career shortly after graduating from Judson High School. Phil is experienced in slab and underground leaks, sewer breaks, and boilers in commercial and residential applications. Phil received his Master Plumbing license in 2008 (#M39145) and is responsible for our plumbing service sales.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Project Management Team
- PROJECT MANAGER
As a graduate of Judson High School, Sean began his plumbing career at the age of 16 and now has over 28 years of experience in the trade. Sean became a part of the Freund Enterprises family in the beginning of 2010 and has progressed through the ranks to Project Manager overseeing both Plumbing and HVAC Projects. When not at work Sean enjoys spending time with family, saltwater fishing & shooting pool competitively from the local level all the way to the international level.
Steve earned an HVAC trade certificate from St. Phillip's College in 1984 and began his career working in residential service and installations. He joined CAE in 2008 and has been a lead technician in our commercial service department. After 32 years working in the field, Steve was promoted to Residential Service Manager in 2018.
After graduating from The University, Tom immediately immersed himself into all things Comfort-Air Engineering in 1993. Over the years, his involvement in accounting, operations, and sales has encompassed all that you could do with this organization. He is considered the "Swiss Army Knife" of Freund Enterprises and is immensely focused on maximizing this organization's potential. In his spare time, Tom enjoys the simplicities of life. Good conversation, books, music, and libations are a day well spent in Tom's view. Sometimes this Nirvana is corrupted by enjoying The University of Texas Longhorns athletic pursuits and all of the highs and lows that are a byproduct therein.
Hired as a service tech in 1985, Victor excelled in the technical aspects of HVAC&R repair work and worked his way into management in 1998. Victor is responsible for technical training and HVAC service for CAE. In 2003 he won the title of NATE top technician in the U.S. from a field of 15,000 participants. He enjoys fishing, hunting, and maintaining a well-manicured yard in his spare time but mostly enjoys spending time with his family.