Christopher Russell is the second generation owner of Action Air Conditioning and runs the company day to day. He did not inherit a desk: he grew up riding along to job sites with his father Dave, then spent high school summers cleaning the warehouse and doing every entry level job in the building before earning his way into the trade.
Credentials
Christopher is a Florida licensed mechanical contractor and a Florida licensed plumbing contractor, and he is currently working toward his electrical license. At Action Air, the owners hold the qualifying licenses themselves, which means the person accountable for your job is a person who actually knows how to fix it.
How He Leads
Every Tuesday morning Christopher runs a short team meeting so every coworker knows what is going on in the company and the industry. He carries forward the same five traits standard his father built the company on, and the same customer first thinking. When Dave bought the company’s current building in the early 2000s, he made the decision only after asking Christopher, then about twelve years old, whether he wanted to take over the business someday. Christopher said yes, and he is now building toward a third generation of the family business. Outside the shop, he coaches youth baseball.