Price’s ever-growing team is made up of extraordinarily talented individuals from different backgrounds. We periodically profile a “person of Price” to give you a glimpse at the person behind all those emails or the voice at the end of the phone! This post: Cody Jacques.
Price Industries: What is your current title and role at Price Industries?
Cody Jacques: My current role at Price is Area Manager for the Northeast US. I see it as my responsibility to be the primary voice of customers within our walls and to ensure the Price sales reps are in position to win. If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking!
PI: How long have you been with Price Industries, and what other roles have you worked in since you started?
CJ: I started with Price Industries in May of 2022. Area Manager is the only role I have held at Price, but working on the sales team is something I truly enjoy. It allows me to collaborate with all business units at Price and to work with a range of unique rep firms.
PI: How did you find yourself in your current area of specialty – was it a lifelong interest and aptitude, or did it evolve later in life?
CJ: To be honest, the HVAC industry is not where I expected to find myself. I was exposed to the trades at a young age as my father was a plumber, but like most who grew up in Boston, MA, I always dreamed of being a hockey player. As I grew older and (sadly) had to become more realistic, I realized I wanted to work closely with people and that I liked math.
| Cody attended the US Military Academy at West Point, majoring in economics with a systems engineering focus |
At the US Military Academy at West Point, I majored in economics with a systems engineering focus, which was my first real exposure to the business side of the technical world. When my army career came to a close, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but working with people in a technical setting was at the top of my list. I found that in the HVAC industry and here at Price.
PI: What was the career path that brought you to Price, and what was it about Price that inspired you to join this team?
CJ: I began my HVAC career working as an Inside Sales Assistant at the Johnson Controls office in Hartford, CT, in 2015. This is not only where I learned the basics of the industry but also where I spent countless hours highlighting and counting VAV boxes on mechanical drawings … and we are still moving boxes to this day! From there I moved into the role of Southeast Regional Sales Manager at Ruskin (then owned by Johnson Controls), where Tom Barrow Company and Hoffman & Hoffman were my primary accounts.
Covering these two dominant rep firms is where I got my first exposure to Price. When I would visit rep offices and talk best practices, Price was frequently referenced. When I attended events with Price personnel, every employee seemed to genuinely enjoy working for Price. It seemed contagious and as though they were empowered to make decisions and do what they felt was right. This only continued when I left Ruskin and joined Tom Barrow Company, where I got to see why our reps love selling Price products. Price puts the customer first and believes in positioning our reps to win – I wanted to be a part of that team.
| Cody and members of the Buckley Associates engineering team catch a Boston Red Sox game |
PI: What is your favorite project you’ve worked on in your time in the industry?
CJ: Without a doubt, my favorite project I have been a part of would be the Sherwin-Williams tower in Cleveland, OH. This was a unique project: a flagship headquarters for a local Cleveland company utilizing an underfloor air distribution system design. We engaged with the project team at a very early stage and hosted a mock-up at our facility in Suwanee, GA, where the owner, construction manager, local mechanical contractor and local Price rep all met to talk job specifics in person.
There was one specific requirement from Sherwin-Williams to make this project a go – to use custom Sherwin-Williams paint on all diffusers. Our operations team reviewed the paint specs and confirmed we had the capabilities, and the custom order was secured. This project speaks volumes to the customer-first, no-excuse mentality we have here at Price, and it was a lot of fun seeing a project through from start to finish.
| Cody with the Air Control Products team and customers at the Granite Curling Club in Winnipeg, MB |
PI: What do you feel is the biggest contribution you have made to the professional community?
CJ: Price has put me in a position to work alongside world-class engineering firms. Last fall, BR+A, a global engineering firm that works on high-profile and progressive projects, asked Price to host a training session dedicated to its firm. Because BR+A has grown rapidly over the last five years, the leadership team wanted all offices, regardless of market, to operate within the same parameters.
Hosting the partners from 10 different BR+A offices with markets ranging from Boston down to Miami and over to St. Louis was an incredible experience. Not only are the different offices on the same page when it comes to air distribution, but the internal bonding and camaraderie is invaluable for the engineering firm. We are now taking this innovative format and rolling it out to other multioffice MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) firms, hoping to bring national firms closer to each other and to Price.