The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials promoted Dave Viola to chief operating officer and senior vice president of business strategy, and hired Lee Mercer as senior vice president of industry relations and business development.

“Dave has a tremendous amount of experience in the plumbing industry and has a keen understanding of all facets of our business,” said IAPMO CEO GP Russ Chaney. “From his start in the family plumbing contractor business, he has spent numerous years overseeing code development and customization, training and code support activities, standards development, and product certification. I feel confident that Dave will be successful in serving in his new role.”

Since joining IAPMO in 2007 as senior director of technical services Viola has overseen divergent areas of The IAPMO Group, including strategy, industry outreach, training and education, international and custom code development, promotion of IAPMO programs and services, the newly acquired American Society of Sanitary Engineering and IAPMO’s Green Building and Sustainable Construction codes initiatives, including development of the Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement.

Viola previously served as technical director for the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (now International) for nine years, where he was responsible for all product standard, plumbing code, product certification, and training activities.

As a vital member of the plumbing industry, Viola was the 2005 recipient of the ASSE Fellow Award and has served on numerous committees and boards, including 13 years as chairperson of the ASME A112 Committee on Plumbing, World Health Organization Advisory Committee on Water Quality, and a charter board member for the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

Prior to his work with PMI, Viola worked on the International Plumbing Code with BOCA International and the International Code Council. His responsibilities with these organizations included serving as secretary of the plumbing code, evaluating plumbing products for code compliance, and developing and conducting seminars.

Mercer brings more than 30 years industry experience, most of them as director of product compliance with Moen, to his new role representing IAPMO interests with key associations and stakeholders and working with customers to identify opportunities to enhance programs and their customer experience with The IAPMO Group.

Mercer possesses a working knowledge of a wide spectrum of manufacturing processes and testing requirements utilized in the manufacture of plumbing and filtration products, as well as strong familiarity with federal, state and local plumbing product installation requirements in the United States and Canada.

His experience includes researching technologies, identifying, analyzing, recommending and developing specific opportunities relating to environmental and product compliance for materials used in drinking water applications. Mercer has worked closely with industry and various government agencies toward the development and implementation of both state and federal regulatory initiatives relating to water conservation and lead in drinking water.

“Lee Mercer is a familiar and highly respected name throughout our industry,” Chaney said. “His considerable experience and long-standing relationships within the plumbing world will no doubt serve The IAPMO Group well as we seek to expand our programs and influence.”

 Mercer was previously chairman of the Plumbing Manufacturers International Uniform Conformity Assessment and Materials Performance committees, as well as a member of numerous plumbing product performance standard committees.