Robert J. "Bud" Riestenberg has been a distinguished leader in the plumbing and mechanical industries since 1969, and now brings his years of knowledge and experience to the IAPMO board as one of two contractor directors-at-large.

Riestenberg, who is based in Florida, is a retired state certified mechanical contractor but still works within the industry as a consultant, providing training and design for the piping and fabrication industry’s.

A charter member of the Pipe Fabrication Institute, Riestenberg has held the positions of secretary/treasurer, vice chairman, chairman, and labor chairman. He is a trustee and current vice chairman for the Plumbing Industry Council, part of the Union Affiliated Contractors (UAC), as well as a trustee and current chairman of both the board of trustees and management negotiating committee for the Plumbing and Air Conditioning Contractor Industry Fund. Prior to his chairmanship at these organizations, Riestenberg served nine years on the Palm Beach County Licensing Board for Code Enforcement and Contractor Licensing. He has also been a loyal member of the United Association for thirty-nine years.

Outside of his busy professional life, Riestenberg is a devoted family man and avid outdoorsman. He and his wife of twenty-four years, Terri, have five children and eleven grandchildren. On his downtime, Riestenberg enjoys offshore fishing in the Atlantic as well as shooting sporting clays and hunting deer and turkey in north central Florida. Last but not least, Riestenberg enjoys playing golf.

Enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve on the board of directors at IAPMO, Riestenberg commented, "As I listened to the commentary from board members at the annual meeting and felt the disappointment each member shared [about the failed ICC Joint Venture], I thought of a quote that seemed appropriate: ‘Nobody gets to live life backwards. Look ahead—that’s where the future lies.’" He went on to say, "I am looking forward to working with IAPMO as a board member and hope I can bring something to the table to help advance the valuable work we are doing in the plumbing and mechanical industry."