Officers

Gary Fields has served as Chief Executive Officer of AAON since 2020 and as a Director since 2015. He previously served as President of AAON from 2016 to 2023. With detailed insight and knowledge of HVAC market trends, competitors, and AAON’s product lines, Gary guides the company's strategic opportunities to improve its position in the marketplace. His over 40 years of experience in the HVAC industry began in 1983 to 2012 as an HVAC equipment sales representative at Texas AirSystems. From 2002 to 2012, he was a member of the ownership group of Texas AirSystems, the largest independent HVAC equipment and solutions provider in Texas.

Gary has been significantly involved with the Fort Worth, Texas Chapter of ASHRAE, having served as Chairman of various ASHRAE committees and ultimately President of the Society. He is the owner and President of GKR Partners LTD, an HVAC business development consulting firm.

Matt Tobolski has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of AAON since January 2024. He leverages the talents of AAON’s operations, engineering, sales, marketing, and administration teams to drive sustainable growth and continue delivering best-in-class solutions to customers. Prior to this role, Matt served as President and Co-Founder of BASX Solutions from the company’s inception in 2013 until AAON acquired BASX. He served as the President and CEO of Tobolski Watkins Engineering, a structural and earthquake engineering firm, from 2008 to 2017 and as Executive Advisor at Structural Integrity Associates from 2017 to 2020, following the acquisition of Tobolski Watkins Engineering. Matt earned a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and an MS and PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of California San Diego. He is a member of ASHRAE and ASCE and is a licensed Civil and Structural Engineer in California, Oregon, and Washington. 

Rebecca Thompson, Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer since 2021, is a licensed certified public accountant and member of the Choctaw Tribe. She previously served as AAON’s Chief Accounting Officer from 2012 to 2021. Rebecca leverages her expertise and strategic insights to ensure financial integrity, transparency, and compliance, optimize financial performance, and capitalize on opportunities for long-term success.

Prior to AAON, she served 11 years as Senior Manager in the assurance division at Grant Thornton, LLP. She received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Master of Information Systems and Accounting from the University of Tulsa. 

Stephen Wakefield, Vice President and Executive Vice President of AAON Oklahoma since January 2024, joined the company in 1999. He most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of AAON Oklahoma and AAON Coil Products from 2020 to 2024. Stephen leverages his extensive knowledge and experience across all aspects of operations, engineering, and product design processes to champion AAON's culture, align team members with their skills and passions, and enable them to excel in their roles. With over 25 years at AAON, he held several roles, including Vice President of Engineering, Director of Engineering, Director of Design and Engineering Operations, Senior Manager of Research and Development, and Design Engineering Manager. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University.

As Vice President of Administration since 2022, Casey Kidwell oversees human resources, security, safety, and IT to uphold AAON’s culture and ensure every team member has the tools they need to be successful inside and outside of work. He previously served as AAON’s Director of Administration since 2021 after working almost ten years in various HR and IT roles at WPX Energy, including as Human Resources Operations Manager. In March 2024, Casey received a Service Member Patriot Award from the Oklahoma ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve).

Rob Teis, Vice President of Business Technology since January 2024, aligns technology projects to industry-leading best practices and AAON’s strategic goals. With expertise across a wide range of technology platforms, he oversees the development of AAON’s ECat Selection Software, CRM, SAP transformation, and tech support. In over 20 years at AAON, he served in several roles, including Vice President of Sales and Marketing from 2022 to 2024, Director of Sales from 2017 to 2022, and Applied Equipment Sales Engineer from 2003 to 2017. Rob is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Oklahoma and has been an ASHRAE member for over 30 years. 

Doug Wichman has served as Vice President of AAON since January 2022 and President of AAON Coil Products since February 2023. With extensive knowledge and experience with all aspects of AAON’s manufacturing processes, Doug oversees unit manufacturing and coil production and identifies strategic opportunities to drive business growth and ensure operational success. Doug has held several roles at AAON, including Executive Vice President of AAON Coil Products from 2022 to 2023, Director of Manufacturing from 2018 to 2022, Plant Manager from 2017 to 2018, and Manufacturing Engineer from 2013 to 2017. He received his Bachelor of Engineering from Montana Technological University and MBA from the University of Montana. He serves as a Director of the Longview Chamber of Commerce and won Oklahoma Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Award in 2020. 

Dave Benson, Vice President of AAON and Co-founder/President of BASX, leverages 45 years of experience in the HVAC industry to engage all teams from sales to design and manufacturing to ensure that every customer's needs are met with excellence. He has pioneered the development and manufacturing of efficient, industry-leading air-handling technology by listening to customers’ unique requirements and quickly delivering a solution that meets or exceeds those goals. Dave served as CEO and Chairman of BASX from the company’s inception in 2013 until AAON acquired BASX. Prior to BASX, he was President and Founder at Huntair from 1993 to 2014, PACE VP and Founder of Cleanpak from 1985 to 1993, and HVAC Design Engineer and Operations Manager at Intel from 1979 to 1985. He earned his BS in Industrial Technology from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

Chris Eason, Chief Accounting Officer of AAON since 2021, is a licensed certified public accountant with 20 years of experience in financial reporting and accounting. He brings an extensive background in the implementation and compliance with internal controls, initial public offerings and other capital raising efforts, SEC quarterly and annual filings, accounting for business combinations, and restructuring initiatives. Chris previously served as AAON’s Controller and Financial Reporting Manager since 2018. Before joining AAON, he served over 13 years as Senior Manager in the assurance division at Grant Thornton, LLP. 

Xerxes Gazder, Chief Information Officer since July 2022, sets the direction for IT to support AAON’s strategic initiatives. He is focused on forward-looking technology solutions that bring a cloud-first, modern architecture to AAON. Xerxes brings nearly 30 years of leadership experience in information systems across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, financial services, insurance, healthcare, telecommunications, energy services, and logistics. Prior to AAON, he served seven years as Director of IT at Johnson Controls and spent over 17 years in IT consulting.