Elevator Careers

Evan Petrower is the president of Day Elevator and Lift, a Kleemann Company. Evan started Day Elevator as an accessibility and mobility company in 1992 and he has continued to grow. Evan holds a New York City Director license. Evan is the past president and board member of AEMA, and is a safety and education committee member of NAEC. He is passionate about customer service and education in the ind...

Chris Rivera is the President of Orlando Elevator, in Orlando, Florida. Chris started in the elevator industry in 1995 as a helper in Puerto Rico and in 1997, he moved to NYC to continue his career. In Jan 2000 Chris moved to Orland, FL and in July 2022, Chris started Orlando Elevator. Chris loves the elevator industry; he is passionate about educating customers and providing exceptional customer...

Victor Rosario is the Chief Executive Officer of United Vertical Group and Co-founder of United Cabs, in New York City. Victor started in the industry while still in college, and found he has both a knack and a passion for the industry. Victor's passion drives him to continually innovate and to go above and beyond to "create customers for life." Resources: Subscribe: https://www.you...

Steve Ryan is the District Manager with Mitsubishi Elevator in Florida.  Steve started his career as a Sales Rep with Schindler in 1982 and spent over 28 years in Sales, Branch Manager, and District Manager roles. Steve moved to Florida with Kone in 2013 and in 2018, Steve joined Mitsubishi and started the Tampa branch from scratch. Steve has been in the Industry 41 years, and loves it; he still e...

John Mezzo is President of Dynasty Elevator in New York City.  John started his career with Otis Elevator as a Test Engineer working in Bloomington Indiana. He then moved to their US Headquarters in Farmington CT where he was a mechanical Engineer. After a few years of engineering, John moved to Las Vegas where he worked first as a New Equipment Sales Rep and then as a Service Sales Rep, before mo...

Jay Arntzen is the President and CEO of Genesis Elevator, President of Revelation Manufacturing, and also Co-Founder of Saving Susan Ministry. Jay started with Montgomery Elevator in 1984, right out of college. Jay spent about 24 years with the company and in 2008, Jay started Genesis Elevator and in 2018, he started Revelation Manufacturing. Jay experience a big change of heart in 2014 and chose...

Bobby Schaeffer is the President of D&D Elevator and Senior Vice President of American Elevator Group. Bobby started in the elevator industry as a helper with Flynn Hill Elevator in 1981. In 1982, Bobby started with D&D elevator, eventually becoming its President for 28 years. Bobby served as the President of the NAEC from 1999 to 2000, and was instrumental in creating the CET certificatio...

Eric Burket started in the elevator industry in 1997 with General Elevator, working in Hagerstown, Maryland.  Eric quickly found his passion for the industry and has spent 25 years in various sales roles and locations, including Regional Vice President with TK in New York City. Today, Eric is the President of ELEV8 Elevator Consulting.  Eric loves what he does and believes that hard work is the ke...

Rick Milefchik is the Chief Operating Officer of Access Elevator Supply in San Francisco and Quality Elevator Products in Chicago. Rick started in the industry in 1981 with Montgomery Elevator as a 16 year old high school student, and grew from there. He spent 32 years with Montgomery/Kone and 8 more with ECS Corporation before taking on his current role. Rick met his wife of 33 plus years at Mont...

Jeff Smith started his career in new installation and modernization sales with, then, Thyssenkrupp Elevator, in Richmond Virginia.  Over the past 20 years, Jeff has held various sales and sales leadership roles, and has also spent time P&L.  Jeff is currently the Regional Business Development Manager with Smartrise Engineering for much of the Northeast.  Jeff is full of enthusiasm for the elev...

Joel Frohlinger grew up in an elevator family in New York City and is a proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma. Joel has worked in the elevator industry for over 56 years; he started as a helper, ran his own business for about 34 years and still works as a consultant. Joel loves the work he does and the wonderful people who have become life-long friends. Resources: Subscribe: https://www.you...

Joey Austin is the president of Atlantic Elevators, a residential elevator contractor in North Carolina. Joey started as a helper in 2003 and quickly moved up to being a foreman. In 2009, Joey moved to the Bay area of CA and in 2012, he moved to Virginia, where he continued to perfect his skills. In 2014, Joey was offered an opportunity to buy into an ownership position, which he was excited to do...

Loannie Reyes, also known as the “Elevator Chick," is the CEO of Authentic Elevator Services, headquartered in New York City. Loannie and her husband Quinn are originally from Puerto Rico and came to New York with the dream of learning the business and starting an elevator company in Puerto Rico. In addition to being the CEO, Loannie picked up the tools of the trade and is a mechanic and insp...

Amy DiPaolo is the Chief Sales Officer and an equity partner with Champion Elevator, headquartered in New York City. Amy started her career at Dover elevator at age 18 working a temp job in the office and she has never looked back. Amy is an ambitious learner and has performed every job possible and learned all aspects of running an elevator company. In 2014, Amy and her husband started Independen...

John Koshak joined the elevator industry when he was working as an electrician in San Francisco in 1980. John worked in all areas of the field, many office roles and also in manufacturing and design. John is passionate about safety and honesty in the organization, and he has the tenacity to fight for what he believes to be right. John is a NAESA Certified Elevator Inspector and Qualified Elevator...

Nick Gretsuk is Executive Vice President of CEC Elevator Cab Corp and Sterylift.  Nick joined the elevator industry almost 30 years ago, and has worked in a variety of roles, both in the field and manufacturing cabs.  In 2020, Nick invented Sterylift to clean the indoor air of elevators, and to help make the world a cleaner, safer, healthier place. Resources: Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@el...

Joe Mcanulty is the General Manger of Liberty Elevator Experts, an elevator and consulting firm located in the Philadelphia area with operations all over the US. Joe started in the field as a helper and learned all he could with the trade. Eventually Joe was offered an opportunity to work in the consulting world and he made the move to Liberty Elevator Experts. Joe serves on the NAESA Board of Cer...

Today, we talk with Jonathan Fox, a founding member and owner of Resolute Elevator in Burlington, NC. Jonathan Started in the Elevator Industry at the very bottom and quickly learned the trade. In 2017, he and his wife took a leap of faith and started Resolute Elevator. Jonathan knows that as he is true to his word, and invests back in his company and his people, success will be the natural result...

The Elevator Learning Center (ELC) was created to help provide a more advanced level of technical and safety training that is common throughout the elevator industry. The ELC is dedicated to helping elevator companies enhance their quality of service and protect the riding public. It is also dedicated to help elevator professionals advance their careers through education and training. Helping to r...

In this episode, Dominik Sachsenheimer, President of Maven Group talks about his beginnings as a Financial Analyst for Otis Elevator to leading mergers and acquisitions for all of North America. Along the way, Dominik realized he really wanted to be an entrepreneur, so in 2016, Dominik founded Maven Group to provide advisement services to owners of independent elevator companies, as they are conte...

Troy Tilleraas is the Vice President of Field Operations with Schumacher Elevator. Troy has been in the elevator industry for over 30 years and about 21 of those years were in the field.  Troy loves what he does and is passionate about the industry. Whether it be parts, tooling, or information, Troy's mission is to get the field personnel what they need so they, the company and the customers...

Joe Bach is Vice President of Field Operations with Minnesota Elevator (MEI) and oversees half of the field operations for the company. He has been with MEI for almost 12 years and loves working in the industry. Joe finds great joy in continuously learning, improving and delivering the very best to their customers. Resources: Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@elevatorcareers/ Submit a Topic Idea...

Fernando Mejia has been working, learning and teaching in the elevator industry for many years. He spent 30 years in the field before taking a management position. Today, Fernando lives in Tampa, FL and manages the region of central Florida. Fernando has been an eager student from the beginning and today he loves to share his knowledge with those who are ready to learn. Resources: Subscribe: https...

Today we are talking with Tom Slattery who is a retired mechanic who spent 41 years in the Elevator Trade. Tom Has great stories and friendships from the industry and he still goes back to New York to meet old friends every year. Tom considers  himself fortunate to have been able to work with amazing people in a wonderful industry. Resources: Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@elevatorcareers/ Su...

Today we are speaking with Chris Gutkes, President of Island Elevator. Chris is a 4th generation elevator professional; as he says it, he was "born into the industry." Chris is passionate about learning, serving and giving back. Chris recognizes that to be successful  in the elevator industry, you need other people, and that includes investing in their success. Resources: Subscribe: http...