MILWAUKEE, WI A. O. Smith Corporation announces that President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin J. Wheeler has been elected to the company's Board of Directors.

Wheeler was named President and Chief Operating Officer of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, -based water technology company. He is responsible for A. O. Smith's global water heater and boiler operations as well as its global water treatment business and oversees the company's global product engineering and information technology functions. 

Wheeler has been with the company for more than 23 years. Since 2013, he has served as Senior Vice President, President and General Manager of North America, India, and Europe water heating, A. O. Smith's largest operating unit.

Wheeler joined A. O. Smith in 1993 as a regional sales manager. He served as managing director of the company's European operations and as vice president-international of the company's water heater operations. In 2007, he was named senior vice president and general manager of the company's retail water heater business.

He has been active in a number of industry associations, most recently serving as an at-large director of the Air-conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute.