Washington, D.C.—INSTALL appointed David Gross as its new executive director. Gross began his new position on Dec. 1, 2022, upon the retirement of the organization’s previous executive director, John T. McGrath, Jr., who held the leadership role for 16 years.
“This is a very important position that, quite frankly, affects tens of thousands of people’s lives,” McGrath said. “We did not take choosing a new executive director lightly and David is more than qualified to continue to lead Install down the path of excellence in training and certification standards.”
According to the company, Gross will continue to highlight INSTALL’s collaborative spirit and sees the executive director as a facilitator role within the organization. Gross said he intends to focus on the needs of each sector of the industry—installers, contractors, manufacturers and specifiers—and work to determine how INSTALL can assist each group in meeting its goals, from providing human resource guidance to supporting recruiting efforts.
“I want to find innovative ways to bridge all of the floor covering installation industry entities while ensuring that INSTALL continues to offer industry-leading training and exacting standards, which provide drivers that move our industry forward,” Gross said.
Gross said he looks forward to furthering the momentum that McGrath initiated and continuing to expand the organization. He specifically plans on growing the Install network throughout the western United States over the next few years. “We’ve put the initial investment in and our investment is going to grow exponentially in the return we give to the industry.”
Prior to assuming the executive director position, Gross served as a full-time instructor at the Northeast Carpenter’s Apprenticeship Training Fund in Hamilton, N.J. for eight years. During this time, he honed his expertise in lesson planning and training program development tailored to the field of floor covering installation, achieving Advanced Instructor Certification through the UBC’s workforce development program created in partnership with Penn State University.
Gross’s strong educational background and focus on the floor covering industry made him the ideal fit for the top position at INSTALL, according to the company. He was selected from a pool of highly qualified candidates by a group of his peers—the INSTALL Committee, which is comprised of contractors and tradespeople within the industry.
He also has sat on the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) executive board as the vice president of Local 251 for almost 20 years.