Directors
Norman H. Asbjornson
Director
Norman H. Asbjornson served as Chief Executive Officer of AAON since its inception until May 2020, when he transitioned to the position of Executive Chairman. He retired as Executive Chairman in May 2022. Mr. Asbjornson also served as President of AAON from its inception until November 2016, when the Board of
Directors appointed Mr. Gary D. Fields as President.
Additionally, Mr. Asbjornson served as the Executive Chairman of the Board of AAON-Oklahoma and Chairman of AAON Coil Products, Inc., both our wholly-owned subsidiaries until his retirement in May 2022. He has served as a director of AAON since its inception, and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
Gary D. Fields
CEO
Gary D. Fields served as President of AAON from November 2016 until January 1, 2024 and has served as Chief Executive Officer since May 2020. He was elected as a director of AAON in 2015, and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
Mr. Fields has been involved in the HVAC industry for more than 35 years. From 1983 to 2012, Mr. Fields was an HVAC equipment sales representative at (and, from 2002 to 2012, a member of the ownership group of) Texas AirSystems, the largest independent HVAC equipment and solutions provider in the state of Texas, with locations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
Mr. Fields has been significantly involved with the Fort Worth, Texas Chapter of ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), having served as Chairman of various ASHRAE committees and ultimately serving as President of the Society.
Mr. Fields is currently an owner and President of GKR Partners LTD, an HVAC business development consulting firm, which provided business development advice and consultation to the Company and its sales representatives from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Fields also serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of AAON, Inc., an Oklahoma Corporation ("AAON-Oklahoma"), Chief Executive Officer of AAON Coil Products, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of BASX, Inc.
Angela E. Kouplen
Independent Director
Angela E. Kouplen was elected for an initial two-year term as a director of AAON in 2016, and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2024 Annual Meeting of stockholders. She serves as Chair of our Compensation Committee and a member of our Audit Committee.
Ms. Kouplen has over 25 years of experience at multiple energy companies, with an emphasis on information technology (“IT”), contract management, sourcing/vendor relations, human resource management, strategy and governance. From 1997 through 2007, Ms. Kouplen worked at CITGO Petroleum, a petroleum refining, marketing and transportation company, in various IT-related positions, including Manager - E-Business Strategy and Alliance, as well as Manager - Third Party Applications and Applications Development.
From 2007 through 2010, Ms. Kouplen served Williams Companies, a Tulsa-based publicly traded energy company, in the position of Manager - Sourcing Management Office. From 2010 through 2011, Ms. Kouplen served Williams Companies as Manager - IT Strategy and Governance. In 2012, Ms. Kouplen transitioned from Williams Companies to WPX Energy, a Tulsa-based stand-alone publicly traded energy company previously part of the Williams Companies. Following the move to WPX Energy, from 2012 through 2014, Ms. Kouplen served as Director - Talent Acquisition and Leadership, from 2015 to 2016 she served as Vice President - Information Technology, from 2016 to November 2018, she served as Vice President of Administration and Chief Information Officer and from November 2018 to March 2021 served as Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Information Officer.
Ms. Kouplen served as the Vice President of Administration and Chief Information Officer at the University of Tulsa from August 2021 to August 2023, and presently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of ONE Gas, Inc. Ms. Kouplen holds a bachelor’s degree in Management from Oklahoma State University and an M.B.A from the University of Tulsa.
Caron A. Lawhorn
Independent Vice Chair
Caron A. Lawhorn was elected as a director of AAON in January 2019, and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2026 Annual Meeting. She serves as Chair of our Audit Committee and a member of our Governance Committee. Additionally, the Board elected Ms. Lawhorn as Independent Vice Chair of the Board at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Ms. Lawhorn has over 35 years of experience in various accounting, finance, operational, commercial and executive positions.
Ms. Lawhorn retired from her most recent role as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ONE Gas, Inc. (a position she held from March 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023), and in such role was responsible for finance, accounting, treasury, investor relations, and ESG reporting. Prior to that, she served as Senior Vice President, Commercial, a position she held from ONE Gas’s separation from ONEOK, Inc. in January 2014. Prior to ONE Gas’s separation from ONEOK, Ms. Lawhorn served in a variety of senior executive roles at ONEOK, including finance, accounting, treasury, operations and corporate development.
Ms. Lawhorn joined ONEOK in 1998, after serving as a Senior Manager at KPMG and Chief Financial Officer of Emergency Medical Services Authority in Tulsa. She holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Business Administration from the University of Tulsa and is a certified public accountant.
Stephen O. LeClair
Independent Director
Stephen O. (“Steve”) LeClair was elected as a director of AAON in 2017 and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2026 Annual Meeting. He is a member of our Audit Committee and Governance Committee. Mr. LeClair has over 25 years of experience in various executive, manufacturing, finance, sales and operational positions.
Mr. LeClair currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE: CNM) (a position he has held since August 2017), and in such role is responsible for leading the nation’s largest distributor of water, sewer, storm and fire protection products. Mr. LeClair was elected Chairman of the Board in 2024. Prior to his current role, he served as President of HD Supply Waterworks from December 2011 to August 2017, Chief Operating Officer from 2008 to 2011, and President of Lumber and Building Materials from April 2007 until its divestiture to ProBuild Holdings in 2008. Mr. LeClair joined Core & Main in 2006 as Senior Director of Operations. Prior to joining Core & Main, Mr. LeClair was a Senior Vice President at General Electric ("GE") Capital Equipment Services from 2002 to 2005, and from 1992 to 2002 held various roles at GE Appliances and Power Generation in distribution, manufacturing and sales.
Mr. LeClair is a graduate of GE Power Generation’s Manufacturing Management Program. He was previously a member of the Saint Louis University’s International Business School Advisory Board. Mr. LeClair holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Union College and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Louisville.
A.H. McElroy II
Independent Chair
A.H. (“Chip”) McElroy II, P.E. was elected as a director of AAON in 2007, and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. He is Chair of our Governance Committee and serves as a member of our Compensation Committee. Additionally, the Board elected Mr. McElroy as Independent Chairman of the Board at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
Since 1997 Mr. McElroy has served as President, CEO and Chairman of McElroy Manufacturing, Inc., a privately held manufacturing company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since 2002, Mr. McElroy has also served as Chairman of Southern Specialties Co., a privately held specialty sheet metal manufacturer. Since 2016, Mr. McElroy has served on the board of directors of Pryer Aerospace, a privately held Tulsa, Oklahoma-based aerospace structural component and sheet metal manufacturer, and from 2016 to June 2019, served on the Advisory Board of HydroHoist Marine Group, a privately held Claremore, Oklahoma based boat lift manufacturer. Since 2017, Mr. McElroy has served as a member on the local advisory board of directors of Ascension St. John Health System, a healthcare system in northeastern Oklahoma and Southern Kansas.
Mr. McElroy is a graduate of the STAGEN Leadership Academy ILP and ALP, YPO International: Integrated Brand Building, Harvard Business School & YPO: High Profit, Go to Market Program, and Harvard Business School & YPO: Sustainable Market Leadership Program. Mr. McElroy holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tulsa.
David R. Stewart
Independent Director
David R. Stewart was elected as a director of AAON in October 2021, and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2026 Annual Meeting. Mr. Stewart serves as a member of our Audit Committee and Governance Committee. He brings over 40 years of professional experience to the Board. Mr. Stewart currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer and Trustee of the Oklahoma Ordnance Works Authority located in Pryor, Oklahoma, an industrial public trust that owns and operates MidAmerica Industrial Park. He was appointed to his current position in December 2012 by the former Governor of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin.
MidAmerica Industrial Park consists of 9,000 acres and is home to over 80 companies in diverse industries (including Google, Siemens and Chevron Phillips), employing approximately 4,500 people. MidAmerica Industrial Park is one of the largest industrial parks in the U.S. and top ten in the world with on-site rail, water and electric power. Prior to his current position, Mr. Stewart, a member of the Cherokee Nation, served as Chief Executive Officer of Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC. During his tenure as CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC, he helped negotiate the Tribal-State Gaming Compact in 2004 and led the Cherokee Nation’s efforts to successfully diversify its business portfolio to include a wide range of non-gaming enterprises employing over 3,500 people.
Mr. Stewart earned his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from Oklahoma State University and is a certified public accountant. Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Mr. Stewart as a member to the Governor's Council of Workforce and Economic Development. He was also appointed by the Governor to the Oklahoma State Board of Career and Technology Education, which provides oversight of the career technical training system in the state of Oklahoma. Mr. Stewart currently is a member of the Board of Directors for the Tulsa Regional Chamber, Executive Committee for Tulsa's Future and is Chair of the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma Business Roundtable. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the State Chamber of Oklahoma and Tulsa Community College Foundation.
Bruce Ware
Independent Director
Bruce Ware was elected as a director of AAON in October 2021, and currently serves in the class of directors whose terms will expire at the 2025 Annual Meeting. Mr. Ware serves as a member of our Audit Committee and Compensation Committee.
Mr. Ware brings significant experience serving in multiple executive and leadership roles at publicly traded companies. Presently, he serves as a Corporate Vice President and Group Head of Joint Venture Capital Raising for DaVita Inc. DaVita is a Fortune 500 NYSE publicly traded health care services company and one of the largest providers of kidney care services in the U.S., with over 2,675 outpatient dialysis centers in the U.S. and over 367 outpatient dialysis centers in eleven other countries. He started his career in the New York office Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette in the investment banking department.
Mr. Ware earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master in Public Affairs from The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor degree in Business Administration in Banking and Finance from The University of Mississippi at Oxford. Mr. Ware also serves on the Board of Directors of Seneca Foods Corporation, where he is a member of the Audit Committee. He previously served on the Board of Directors for Blackhawk Bank of Beloit, Wisconsin where he was a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. He is a Trustee of the University of Mississippi Foundation, which oversees the $850 million endowment for Ole Miss.
