HG HomeClub

Dave Regnery Named Among HG HomeClub’s 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

By HG HomeClub October 4, 2026 13 min read

The Chair, President and CEO of Trane Technologies is recognized for a 40-year career that began in an entry-level trainee program and ended with him co-architecting the company’s transformation from an industrial conglomerate into the world’s most valuable pure-play HVAC company, for positioning Trane at the center of the AI data center cooling boom, and for a personal story about paying his own way through business school that reshaped how the company treats tuition for its 30,000 North American employees.

HG HomeClub has named Dave Regnery, Chair, President and CEO of Trane Technologies plc (NYSE: TT), to its list of the 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living.

The list, published by HG HomeClub, recognizes 25 leaders who are shaping these three industries in the right way. It spans manufacturing, distribution, retail, technology, franchising, contracting, media, capital and the associations that convene the trades. It is presented alphabetically and carries no numerical ranking, because the leaders on it exercise influence in fundamentally different ways, and comparing a keynote stage to a distribution network, or a franchise system to a product platform, would flatten what makes each of them consequential.

Regnery earns his place on it for leading one of the largest and most consequential transformations in HVAC industry history: turning a diversified industrial manufacturer into a focused climate technology company that reported $21.3 billion in revenue in 2025, up from roughly $12.3 billion in 2020, the year of the corporate split that created Trane Technologies. The company’s market capitalization has grown to roughly $101 billion, and it closed 2025 with a record enterprise backlog of $7.8 billion, a figure that had already grown to $10.7 billion by the first quarter of 2026 as demand for data center cooling accelerated.

Those are the numbers. The story is a career that never left the company, and a promise Regnery made to his own workforce based on a hardship he lived through himself.

A Trainee in 1985 Who Never Left the Company

Regnery has spent his entire career at what is now Trane Technologies. He joined the company, then Ingersoll Rand, in 1985 through its financial leadership development program, progressing through financial, commercial and general management roles over four decades. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Northeastern University and an MBA from Lehigh University.

Climbing Through Nearly Every Business the Company Owns

Over his career, Regnery led the majority of the company’s businesses around the world, including Commercial HVAC, Residential HVAC and Transport Refrigeration (Thermo King), and served as president of HVAC Commercial and Transport across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As head of Commercial HVAC, he launched the company’s EcoWise portfolio of products, designed to lower environmental impact through high-efficiency operation and low global warming potential refrigerants. He later became President and Chief Operating Officer, with direct responsibility for the company’s three regional reporting segments, its full business portfolio, and mission-critical operations including supply chain, engineering and information technology.

From COO to Chair: The 2021 Transition

Regnery was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2021, succeeding Mike Lamach, who remained as executive chair through the transition, and was named Chair of the company’s board of directors in January 2022. As Lamach’s successor, Regnery inherited, and became the primary co-architect of, the company’s broader transformation from Ingersoll Rand, a diversified industrial conglomerate, into Trane Technologies, a focused, pure-play climate innovator, following the 2020 spin-off that separated the company’s industrial tools business.

How Trane Positioned Itself for the AI Data Center Boom

Under Regnery, Trane has moved aggressively to capture demand for data center thermal management as artificial intelligence infrastructure spending has surged. The company completed its acquisition of BrainBox AI, a pioneer in autonomous HVAC controls and generative AI building technology, in January 2025, after first partnering with the company the year prior. It followed that with a definitive agreement to acquire LiquidStack, a global leader in direct-to-chip and immersion liquid cooling for data centers, and acquired Stellar Energy Americas, a modular turnkey cooling provider, giving the company end-to-end thermal management from chillers and heat rejection at the facility level down to direct-to-chip and immersion cooling at the rack level. By the first quarter of 2026, Americas commercial HVAC bookings tied to data centers, hospitals and campuses were up more than 100 percent year over year, with a book-to-bill ratio of roughly 150 percent.

Fourteen Straight Years on Fortune’s Most Admired List

Trane Technologies has been named to Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list for fourteen consecutive years, a list developed with Korn Ferry and considered the definitive assessment of corporate reputation. “We are honored to be acknowledged by Fortune as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies,” Regnery said of the most recent honor. “This recognition validates the strength of our purpose-driven strategy and the extraordinary passion of our global team, who are creating lasting impact for our shareholders, customers and communities.” The company has also secured a spot on CDP’s climate change ‘A List’ for four consecutive years.

Why Regnery Pays Tuition Up Front Instead of Reimbursing It

One of Regnery‘s most personal initiatives traces back to his own struggle paying for his MBA. “It was extremely difficult for me to be able to come up with the funds so that I could get reimbursed later,” Regnery told Fortune, recalling that he paid for one class at a time rather than two because of the cost. In 2023, under his leadership, Trane repositioned its tuition reimbursement policy to tuition advancement, paying employees’ education costs up front rather than reimbursing them afterward, a change that also added technical certifications like HVAC and building automation technology as qualifying programs. “The reason why that’s so important is because many people, especially at the line level, may not have the funds available to pay for the initial cost of going to school and then wait for the reimbursement,” Regnery said. The change drove a 39 percent increase in program participation, to nearly 730 employees, in its first year. Trane has paired the tuition program with a nationally registered Technician Apprenticeship Program through the U.S. Department of Labor, which welcomed more than 80 apprentices from 26 states in its first year.

The $100 Million Bet on Underrepresented Students in STEM

Trane’s corporate citizenship strategy under Regnery, known as Sustainable Futures, commits $100 million and 500,000 volunteer hours between 2020 and 2030 to expanding underrepresented students’ access to STEM education and green career pathways, and the company says it remains on track to deliver on that pledge. That work has helped earn Trane inclusion on The Civic 50, Points of Light’s list recognizing the most community-minded companies in the United States.

Beyond Trane: A Seat on L3Harris’s Board

In October 2024, L3Harris Technologies appointed Regnery to its board of directors, extending his industrial leadership experience to the defense sector. “As the current Chair and CEO of a global industrial company, I will bring additional experience and perspective to the Board in support of L3Harris’ journey to transform the defense industry,” Regnery said of the appointment.

Why Does Dave Regnery Belong Among the 25 Most Influential Leaders in These Industries?

Influence in these industries takes several forms. Some leaders influence through a keynote stage or a book. Some through a franchise system that creates business owners. Some through a distribution network, a software platform, or the price of a pallet.

Dave Regnery influences through four decades spent inside a single company, and through what he did with the authority that career eventually earned him. He helped architect Trane Technologies’ split from an industrial conglomerate into a focused climate company that has nearly doubled its revenue and built a record order backlog on the back of the AI data center boom, all while personally rewriting how the company pays for its own employees’ education because he remembered what it was like to struggle to cover his own. That combination of institutional patience and structural transformation is exactly the kind of influence this list was created to recognize.

About HG HomeClub

HG HomeClub is a national media platform serving the home improvement, home services and outdoor living industries. Created to champion media back to its original purpose of informed transparency, HG HomeClub curates the top stories, headlines, rankings, videos, podcasts, webinars, events and professional recommendations across the industry and presents them in one consolidated, easily consumable destination, helping both homeowners and professionals make better-informed decisions. More information is available at hghomeclub.com.

About Trane Technologies

Trane Technologies plc (NYSE: TT), formerly Ingersoll Rand and headquartered in Swords, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Davidson, North Carolina, is a global climate innovator focused on sustainable solutions for buildings, homes and transportation. Through its strategic brands, Trane and Thermo King, the company reported $21.3 billion in revenue in 2025 and employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide. The company is led by Chair, President and CEO Dave Regnery. More information is available at tranetechnologies.com.

The 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living

Presented alphabetically. There is no numerical ranking; each leader is recognized for influence exercised in a distinct way.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dave Regnery, Trane Technologies and This Recognition

  1. What is HG HomeClub, and what is this list?

HG HomeClub is a national media platform serving the home improvement, home services, and outdoor living industries. It was created to return media to its original purpose of informed transparency, curating the industry’s top stories, headlines, rankings, videos, podcasts, webinars, events and professional recommendations in one place for both homeowners and professionals. The 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living is one of HG HomeClub’s editorial rankings, recognizing the people shaping these industries in the right way across manufacturing, distribution, retail, technology, franchising, contracting, media, capital and the associations that convene the trades.

  1. Is the list ranked from one to 25?

No. The list is presented alphabetically and carries no numerical order. The leaders recognized exercise influence in genuinely different ways, through enterprise scale, growth, product innovation, franchising, capital, authorship, keynote stages, advocacy and media, and HG HomeClub declined to impose a hierarchy on work that is not comparable. Every leader on the list is recognized equally.

  1. Who is Dave Regnery?

Dave Regnery is Chair, President and CEO of Trane Technologies plc. He joined the company, then Ingersoll Rand, in 1985 through its financial leadership development program and spent his entire career there, leading businesses including Commercial HVAC, Residential HVAC and Thermo King before serving as President and Chief Operating Officer. He was appointed CEO in July 2021 and named Chair of the board in January 2022. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Northeastern University and an MBA from Lehigh University.

  1. Why was Dave Regnery selected for this list?

Because he served as primary co-architect of Trane Technologies’ transformation from the industrial conglomerate Ingersoll Rand into a focused, pure-play climate innovator, has grown the company’s revenue from roughly $12.3 billion in 2020 to $21.3 billion in 2025, positioned Trane at the center of the AI data center cooling boom through targeted acquisitions, and personally redesigned the company’s tuition program based on his own experience struggling to pay for business school.

  1. How has Trane Technologies performed financially under Dave Regnery?

Trane Technologies’ revenue has grown from roughly $12.3 billion in 2020, the year of its corporate spin-off, to $21.3 billion in 2025. The company’s market capitalization has grown to roughly $101 billion, and it closed 2025 with a record enterprise backlog of $7.8 billion, which grew further to $10.7 billion by the first quarter of 2026 as data center-related bookings surged.

  1. How has Trane Technologies positioned itself for AI data center demand?

Under Regnery, Trane completed its acquisition of BrainBox AI, an autonomous HVAC controls and generative AI building technology company, in January 2025, followed by agreements to acquire LiquidStack, a liquid and immersion cooling specialist for data centers, and Stellar Energy Americas, a modular turnkey cooling provider. Together, these acquisitions give Trane end-to-end thermal management capability from facility-level chillers down to direct-to-chip and immersion cooling.

  1. What is Trane’s tuition advancement program?

In 2023, under Regnery’s leadership, Trane repositioned its tuition reimbursement policy to tuition advancement, paying employees’ education costs up front rather than reimbursing them after the fact. Regnery has said the change was informed by his own experience struggling to pay for his MBA one class at a time. The change also added technical certifications as qualifying programs and drove a 39 percent increase in program participation in its first year.

  1. What is Trane’s Sustainable Futures commitment?

Sustainable Futures is Trane Technologies’ corporate citizenship strategy, committing $100 million and 500,000 volunteer hours between 2020 and 2030 to expand underrepresented students’ access to STEM education and green career pathways. The company says it remains on track to deliver on that pledge, and its community engagement work has helped earn it inclusion on The Civic 50, Points of Light’s list of the most community-minded companies in the United States.

  1. What recognition has Trane Technologies received under Dave Regnery?

Trane Technologies has been named to Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list for fourteen consecutive years and has secured a spot on CDP’s climate change “A List” for four consecutive years. Dave Regnery has also been appointed to the board of directors of L3Harris Technologies, extending his industrial leadership experience to the defense sector.

About HG HomeClub

HG Homeclub is the premier source for home improvement industry intelligence, covering the leaders, innovations, and strategic developments shaping the future of residential and commercial building markets. Our analysis helps industry professionals understand the forces driving transformation across the home improvement ecosystem.

This analysis reflects HG Homeclub's perspective on industry developments and is based on publicly available information. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from expectations.

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