Michael Franco

President & Chief Financial Officer, Vornado Realty

Search every verified Michael Franco interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Michael Franco, President and Chief Financial Officer at Vornado Realty, appeared on the September 17, 2021 episode of the "Dave Cooper LIVE #BS Friday Show" to discuss ventilation certification through the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). During the interview, Franco stated that "healthy air and healthy living have become paramount, especially after COVID-19 highlighted the importance of indoor air quality." He described PHIUS's Fierce certification program as a standard that "focuses specifically on passive building applications with more stringent requirements" and claimed it is "superior to other programs like HVI or AHRI" for evaluating products in passive building contexts. Franco noted that the passive building industry "is growing rapidly, especially the certified builders program," and said PHIUS is "excited to start certifying ventilation units with several manufacturers already lined up." He emphasized that PHIUS requires "at least a MERV 8 filter on our units" with plans to phase in MERV 13, and described the certification's data as "near plug-and-play for practitioners." Franco also mentioned that PHIUS offers "a variety of online training programs for mechanical contractors and others in the trades" focused on passive building science and ventilation.