A commercial HVAC chief executive officer chooses the markets the company competes in: which buildings, which customers and which contracts. The CEO builds the leadership team and keeps close ties with the general contractors, engineers and building owners who send large jobs. The owner or board holds the CEO to growth and profit goals.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, HVAC and plumbing contractors · BLS, May 2025
Serve as the visionary leader for the Commercial HVAC division, steering the company toward growth, enhanced profitability, and industry leadership. Establish strategic partnerships with contractors and property owners to ensure sustainable business expansion and operational excellence.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan that aligns with the company’s long-term vision.
Provide leadership and strategic direction to all facets of the Commercial HVAC operations.
Oversee financial performance and ensure profit targets are consistently met or exceeded.
Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with contractors, property owners, and key industry stakeholders.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor daily financial and operational performance and adjust strategies as needed.
Engage with contractors and property owners through regular communication and site visits.
Analyze market trends and competitor activities to proactively refine business strategies.
Collaborate with the senior leadership team to implement initiatives for process and service improvements.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Annual Revenue Growth: Achieve a minimum increase of 10% per year.
Profit Margin: Maintain a gross margin of at least 35%.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Exceed a rating of 4.8 stars from client feedback.
New Contract Acquisitions: Secure a minimum of 5 significant partnerships per quarter.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
Minimum of 10 years of senior leadership experience in commercial HVAC or a closely related industry.
Strong financial management skills with a proven track record of achieving profitability targets.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Direct experience leading a commercial HVAC organization or similar home services business.
A well-established network within the HVAC, property management, or construction industries.
Demonstrable success in setting and achieving strategic business goals.
Experience collaborating effectively with diverse stakeholders in multiple business sectors.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to perform light office duties and occasional site inspections.
Capacity to travel frequently to meet with contractors, property owners, and operational sites.
Standard office environment with occasional visits to external work environments.
Ability to adapt to varying environmental conditions encountered on job sites.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours during standard business operating times.
Occasional travel as required for industry events, site visits, and strategic meetings.
Availability for on-call duties during critical decision-making moments.
Flexibility to adapt work hours based on industry and business needs.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary range: $200,000 - $350,000 USD per year.
Performance bonuses tied to measurable revenue and profitability outcomes.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance packages.
401k retirement plan with matching contributions, plus additional paid time off.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Emphasis on collaboration, innovation, and continuous growth within a supportive environment.
A dynamic leadership team dedicated to empowering employees and fostering career development.
Commitment to an open, transparent, and inclusive culture that embraces diverse perspectives.
Illustrative example: "Our company prioritizes professional development and work-life balance, ensuring that every team member feels valued and motivated to excel."
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A residential HVAC company grows by winning homeowners. A commercial one grows by earning the trust of the few people who buy for each building, and by picking which contracts to chase.
Picking the buildings you serve
Each kind of building brings its own work. Schools bring public bids and summer install windows. Retail chains bring many small sites and work orders through portals. Offices bring property managers and tenant rules, and light industrial plants bring process cooling and pressure to keep running. The CEO chooses which of these markets to chase, how far from the shop crews will travel, and when to pass on a bid.
Reputation travels in a small circle
The same engineers, general contractors and facility directors see your work on job after job, and one bad project gets talked about. Much of what decides the next bid happens before it opens. The CEO puts those relationships first, walks key jobs with clients, and steps in personally when a job goes wrong.
Backlog shows what's coming
Signed work that isn't built yet is called backlog. It tells a commercial CEO what the coming months hold. When backlog thins, the CEO pushes for more bids and agreement sales before crews run short of work. When it swells, the CEO chooses between hiring, subcontracting, or passing on jobs the company can't staff well.
One job can sink a year
A large project can tie up crews, cash and bonding for months, and a loss on it can erase the profit from the rest of the year. Contract terms add risk, such as a daily charge for finishing late or a duty to cover problems you didn't cause. The CEO sets the limits as policy: how big one job or one client may get, and which terms are a walk-away.
Managers set the pace of growth
Commercial growth stalls without enough project managers, estimators and service managers. Each project manager can run only so many jobs at once. Each estimator can price only so many bids. The CEO plans those hires a year ahead and decides which to grow from inside, such as a lead tech who moves into project work.
How much commercial HVAC chief executive officers make
The closest BLS group for commercial HVAC chief executive officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $174,130 a year ($83.72 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 760 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for HVAC and plumbing contractors.
A base salary plus a revenue and profit bonus, as the template lists. Some owners add a long-term incentive, such as equity, when they want a hired CEO to stay for several years.
HVAC and plumbing contractors
$174,130$174,130 median Middle half $93,740–$271,790 10th–90th $70,780–$421,320
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
HVAC and plumbing contractors
$70,780
$93,740
$174,130
$271,790
$421,320
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS reports HVAC and plumbing contractors together, residential and commercial. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has led a commercial contractor, or a large division of one, with full profit and loss duty
Wins and keeps relationships with general contractors, engineers and building owners
Reads bids, backlog and job reports and can tell when a project is in trouble
Knows which contract terms to refuse and negotiates the rest
Builds a leadership team and then lets it run
Teach these on the job
Your markets, key accounts and bid history
Your union or open-shop setup and wage rules
State license classes and who holds yours
Which service agreements renew and which walk away
Your software and reporting setup
Most of a commercial HVAC CEO's work happens in reports: monthly financials, backlog, the work-in-progress schedule, bid results and safety numbers. Those come out of the construction accounting system plus BuildOps, ServiceTitan or whatever runs your service side. Be honest with candidates about how clean that data is now, since a new CEO leans on it from the first week.
Every target in the template is a placeholder. Swap in goals built from your books and backlog, and go over progress at each quarter's board or owner meeting.
Annual Revenue Growth
Compare revenue for the year with last year's, split three ways: service agreements, repairs and project installs. Read it beside backlog, because project revenue shows up as jobs get built, not on the day a contract is signed.
Profit Margin
The template means gross margin here: revenue less direct job costs (field labor, equipment, materials, subs, permits and crane time) divided by revenue. Pull it from closed jobs, by type of work.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Commercial clients rarely post star reviews, so ask each account for a rating at project closeout and at contract renewal. Put renewal and rebid results beside it; losing an agreement says more than a survey.
New Contract Acquisitions
Have the owner or board define what counts as significant, such as a service agreement above a set size or a first project with a new general contractor. Count the ones signed each quarter.
Career path
Project managerRuns installs from bid to closeout and learns how jobs make money.
General managerLeads the service and project teams day to day and answers for their results.
Much of it goes to people outside the company. A commercial HVAC CEO meets general contractors, engineers and large clients, reviews bids above a set size, checks backlog and cash with the CFO, and holds the operations leaders to their plans. Visits to major job sites fill part of the week, both to see the work and to be seen by the client.
How much does a commercial HVAC chief executive officer make?
Chief executives who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $174,130 a year ($83.72 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $93,740 and $271,790 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What changes when a CEO moves from residential to commercial HVAC?
A residential CEO grows through marketing, in-home sales and maintenance plans sold to homeowners. A commercial CEO grows through bids, contracts and the relationships behind them. The risks differ too: bonds, held retainage, long projects and contract terms written by someone else. If your company does both, decide which side the new CEO should grow first.
Is an engineering degree worth requiring for a commercial HVAC CEO?
Usually not. The template accepts a business, engineering or related degree, with an MBA preferred. An engineering background helps a CEO talk with the engineers who design projects and judge the risk in a complex bid. A business background helps with lenders, planning and finance. Senior leadership at a mechanical contractor or building services firm matters more than the degree.
What do CEO candidates want to know about a commercial HVAC company?
Strong candidates ask how revenue splits between service and project work, how big the backlog is, how much bonding you can get, and what gross margin has been. They ask if you are union or open shop, which markets you serve, how much say they will have over bids and hiring, and whether the owner plans to sell. Share the basics early. Share the numbers once they sign a confidentiality agreement.
Can the owner stay involved after hiring a CEO?
Yes. Some owners stay on as chairman, as the license holder, or with a few key accounts. Write down which decisions move to the CEO, such as bids, hiring and pricing, and which stay with the owner, such as large loans or selling the company. Clients and general contractors will keep calling the owner for a while, so agree on how those calls pass to the CEO.
