Leader in Education New Executive Director of INSTALL

The International Standards and Training Alliance (INSTALL) has publicly announced its new executive director.

David Gross has joined the organization from the Northeast Carpenters Apprenticeship Training Fund (NCATF) in Hammonton, N.J., where he served as an instructor for eight years.

“I want to find innovative ways to bridge all of the floor covering installation industry entities, while ensuring INSTALL continues to offer industry-leading training and exacting standards, which provide drivers that move our industry forward,” says Gross.

INSTALL says its new leader will continue to highlight the collaborative spirit and sees the executive director as a facilitator role within the organization.

Gross 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.

He also 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,” he says.

Gross’ educational background is expected to serve the organization well. During his time with NCATF, 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 United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) workforce development program created in partnership with Penn State University.

Gross succeeds John T. McGrath Jr., who retired in late 2022, after serving at the organization’s helm for 16 years.

“This is a very important position that, quite frankly, affects tens of thousands of people’s lives,” says McGrath. “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.”