NASRC has recently welcomed three new Directors to our Board: Frank Davis of Grocery Outlet, Mike Ellinger of Whole Foods Market, and Doug Milu of Publix Super Markets. Together, they have a combined 78 years of experience in the commercial refrigeration industry.
Frank Davis is the Director of Refrigeration Engineering, Energy & Sustainability at Grocery Outlet. Prior to joining Grocery Outlet, Frank was the Director of Facility Engineering with Sprouts Farmers Market. When Frank joined Sprouts Farmers Market, they only had 31 stores. He helped them design and grow their store footprint to 340 stores within 10 years, all with sustainability in mind.
Frank has brought that focus on sustainability to the NASRC Board of Directors. “I chose to join the Board of Directors to collaborate with the top leaders in the supermarket refrigeration industry to make a difference and help retailers with solutions on engineer refrigeration system with a sustainable approach,” said Davis, “My goal of joining the NASRC is to create a template with options that retailers or small business owners can use to be more sustainable with their refrigeration mechanical systems.”
Mike Ellinger, Global Principal Program Manager of Engineering, Compliance and Sustainability for Whole Foods Market, shares Frank’s enthusiasm for sustainable refrigeration. “Natural refrigerants have been a passion of mine since I installed some of our first systems over 10 years ago,” said Ellinger. “Natural refrigerants have come a long way in the last 5 years, but we still have more work to do to remove the barriers. I look forward to working with our Board leadership and members to make a significant impact for our industry.” Mike joined Whole Foods Market in 1997 as part of the Sustainable Facilities Team and currently works to develop and implement MEPR programs aligning with the company’s sustainability goals.
Doug Milu is a seasoned professional bringing 38 years of experience in supermarket refrigeration, installation, service and maintenance to his position. As the Refrigeration & Energy Program Manager for Publix Super Markets, Doug oversees Publix's refrigeration and HVAC equipment specifications, installation specifications, and provides input on future refrigeration designs. Doug’s core team also facilitates research and development of advanced technologies in refrigeration systems, energy management and sustainability.
“I see this organization as a forum for input and collaboration surrounding many of the challenges grocery retailers face in adopting a more sustainable refrigeration architecture,” said Milu. “NASRC and its contributors seek answers to these challenges through an unbiased approach that provides real world options for those end users wanting to adopt new technologies. I am honored to be associated with NASRC, and I'm excited to help drive change in our industry.”
“We are thrilled to have Frank’s, Mike’s, and Doug’s voices on the Board of Directors,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. “The experience they bring as experts in the industry and on the challenges facing end-users is invaluable.”