HARDI Engages Senior AI Advisor Mandy Long to Support Member Education

Heating, Air-conditioning, & Refrigeration Distributors International announced an engagement with Mandy Long, former CEO and board member of BigBear.ai, who will serve as a senior AI advisor to the association. The partnership will support HARDI member companies as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent across the tools, platforms and processes shaping wholesale distribution.

Long has spent almost two decades working in software, machine learning and artificial intelligence across a variety of industries. She is a patent holder in these categories and has held senior positions at IBM, Modernizing Medicine, Experian Health and Epic. She brings a unique perspective at the intersection of national security, health equity, emerging technology and cross-sector innovation.

Beginning in 2026, Long will work with HARDI to develop educational resources informed by real-world input from distributors. HARDI will invite members to share their experiences experimenting with AI to help shape future content and programming.