New Postings for the Lighting Positions Network

1. Vice President of Marketing & Sales, Topaz Lighting Corp., Holtsville, New York - Responsible for the direction and management of all marketing, sales and business development operations, including market competitiveness, pricing, compensation, distribution and channel strategy. Position includes responsibility for driving the company’s strategies of its customer acquisition and revenue goals. Participate as an active member of the company’s executive team.  At least 10 years sales experience in Lighting and Electric industries, with 4 years in a senior management sales position. Master's degree (MA or MBA) or equivalent preferred; must live in or be willing to relocate to Long Island, New York. Submit resume to laurie.darnaby@topaz-usa.com. 

2. Executive Positions from NETSHARE - The following is a sample of open positions that have been posted with NETSHARE over the past week. This list changes every day…with some dropping off and some added. View the $100K+ job listings below and many more on the website at: http://www.netshare.com/Jobs_Public.aspx?d=815.  Email your interest and resumes, reference the EnergyWatchBlog, directly to Jan Furste jan@netshare.com. 

• Chief Executive Officer, North Dakota, $200,000-$300,000 plus bonus + stock + equity + relocation
• President, Northeast USA, Cash compensation plus substantial equity opportunity
• Chief Operating Officer, Salt Lake City, $175,000-$225,000 plus 50% bonus
• General Manager, Southern California, $175,000-$200,000 plus target bonus of 40% + relocation
• Chief Executive Officer, Texas, $150,000-$250,000 plus incentive plan, plus equity

News Updates for the Week of October 28

1.      LED Lighting Creeps Toward Tipping Point - The overall project cost when LA changed out 140,000 street lights to LED was estimated at $57 million, which was paid for with a combination of power rebates, the Street Light Assessment Fund, and a $40 million loan that will be paid back over seven years with the savings generated by the end technology. Despite significant energy savings of this sort, LED lighting will only account for about 5 percent of all the technologies used in retrofit projects this year, estimates Navigant Research. By 2017, however, its share will probably hit 40 percent; it will pass the halfway mark by 2021. One big factor is lower LED pricing, which is helping compress the payback periods. 10/24 Forbes

2.      NEMA Publishes NEMA LSD 67-2013 Low Mercury Controllable Fluorescent Systems - NEMA LSD 67 discusses technical tradeoffs associated with reduced mercury dosing in fluorescent lighting systems and their environmental impacts. NEMA members are committed to providing fluorescent lighting systems that allow lamps to be controlled to save energy, while reducing the mercury content in the lamps to the extent that it is technically possible without sacrificing functionality. http://www.nema.org/Standards/Pages/Low-Mercury-Controllable-Fluorescent-Systems.aspx

3.      Philips CEO Says Company Is Winning Market Share With $5 LEDs  - Frans van Houten did not give a specific figure on the company's global market share. But the report showed LED lighting sales grew by 33 percent from a year ago in the three months through September. They accounted for 30 percent of the 2.08 billion euros ($2.85 billion) in lighting sales Philips had in the quarter. Van Houten said Philips is now offering consumer LEDs in the U.S. for $5 at Home Depot and in partnerships with several major utility companies. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/philips-winning-market-share-lighting-084115754.html

4.      DOE Publishes New Report on Color Stability of LED Lighting Products - The U.S. DOE has published a new report, Color Maintenance of LEDs in Laboratory and Field Applications. Although concern for parametric failure of LED lighting products has largely been focused on lumen maintenance, color shift is a cause of early failure for some products, especially in applications where visual appearance is critical. The report discusses field data from DOE's GATEWAY program showing that many LED lamps installed in museums have changed color beyond a reasonable tolerance well before their rated lifetimes were reached, and laboratory data from DOE's CALiPER program indicating that many early LED products shifted beyond acceptable tolerances in as short a span of time as a few thousand hours. The report is available: www.ssl.energy.gov/gatewaydemos_results.html

5.      NSF Announces SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunity - The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a funding opportunity for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs that may be of interest to the solid-state lighting community. NSF SBIR and STTR programs provide non-dilutive seed money for startups and small businesses in almost any sector. Initial grants (Phase I) of the current funding opportunity provide $150,000 for six months. Awardees can compete for a Phase II grant, which provides $750,000 for two years. The current SBIR and STTR Phase I solicitations have deadlines of December 2 and December 4, respectively. For more information, visit www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir

6.     RAB Lighting Earns IMARK Supplier of the Year Award - RAB Lighting, a manufacturer of LED lighting, was recently named 2013 IMARK Supplier of the Year.  This is the second consecutive year that RAB Lighting has been awarded this distinction by IMARK members.  The criteria used in the selection process includes annual sales growth and overall performance; marketing support for IMARK programs, new product promotions and communications activities; member training through IMARK University; and creative efforts to serve new members. www.imarkgroup.com

7.      Webinar: Pedestrian-Friendly Nighttime Lighting - On Tuesday, November 19, the U.S. DOE Solid-State Lighting Program will host a 90-minute live webinar entitled Pedestrian-Friendly Nighttime Lighting at 1:00 p.m. ET.  Presenter Naomi Miller of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will address color rendering (softness and warmth), safety (visibility and face recognition), and adaptation (sleeping, star-filled skies and other concerns). DOE SSL website

8.      LED Specifier Summit - Offers key education in LED lighting products and practices, geared toward architects, lighting designers, engineers, interior designers and other specifiers of LED lighting. All sessions are approved for AIA, IDCEC and GBCI continuing education and earn CEU credit. Register at: http://www.prereg.net/2013/ledss/.

New Postings for the Lighting Positions Network

1.      Executive Vice President of Sales, Topaz Lighting Corp., Holtsville, NY - Responsible for the direction and management of all sales and business development operations, including market competitiveness, pricing, compensation, distribution and channel strategy. Position includes responsibility for driving the company’s strategies of its customer acquisition and revenue goals. Participate as an active member of the company’s executive team.  At least 10 years sales experience in Lighting and Electric industries, with 4 years in a senior management sales position. Master's degree (MA or MBA) or equivalent preferred; must live in or be willing to relocate to Long Island, NY. Submit resume to laurie.darnaby@topaz-usa.com.

2.      Executive Advantage Group, Inc. has been exclusively retained by Flextronics International (circa $24B) to conduct 16 searches for a number of Business Development, and Global Account Management openings at all levels across all of their business/market segments (e.g., Industrial, Communications, Networking, Server and Storage, Connectivity, Mobility, Medical, Energy, Automotive, Global Services, et al.). Visit the Flextronics International career page at: http://careers.flextronics.com/featured.php?f=business-development-jobs or, reference the EnergyWatchBlog, directly to Michael A. Rothstein, Managing Principal, Direct: 503-372-9084
mrothstein@executive-advantage.com.

News Updates for the Week of October 21

1.      Litek Retrofits Lighting in Venice, Customizes LEDs for Legacy Look - The historic city of canals, piazzas, and bridges now saves over 80% in energy usage with SSL retrofits installed in the existing fixtures that also match the warm color temperature and light distribution of the legacy lighting. Venice, Italy is one of  those historical cities where change is not necessarily welcome, especially if it changes the iconic look and the feel of the place. Litek’s retrofit project took four years of testing and has now retrofitted 7000 existing fixtures with LEDs. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/10/10/8

2.      PSFK Labs Report: “The Future Of Light” - Think tank PSFK Labs has published an independent report, The Future of Light, with support from Philips. Based upon expert interviews and more than 50 ground-breaking case studies, the report showcases how the new age of digital light will unlock significant health, well-being, sustainability and economic benefits for all aspects of society in the future. The report covers four key themes–'Luminous Relationships,' 'Illuminated Expression,' 'Enlightened Communication' and 'Light For Life'–which are broken down into 12 micro-trends. http://www.psfk.com/publishing/future-of-light

3.      LED Phosphor Intellectual Property (IP) LED Phosphors and Down-Converters Patent Investigation Report 2013 - Phosphor IP is a major force in the LED industry. With more than 40 litigation cases, it is also used as leverage by companies which have negotiated close to 70 licensing and supply agreements to date. It can also be argued that in the first half of the 2000 decade, the strict enforcement and lack of license grants for some fundamental IP related to the design and manufacturing of white LEDs might also have slowed down the progress of the industry by preventing more efficient competition that would allow prices to decrease. The report identifies the key players with the most relevant IP. It provides an overview, of phosphor related IP litigation and licensing, that has shaped the industry since the mid 90s, as well as a detailed analysis for the major players involved. http://www.researchandmarkets.com/publication/2dk562/led_phosphor_intellectual_property_ip_led_p  

4.      U.S. Expected to Become One of the Most Energy-Efficient Countries - The U.S. is on track to become one of the most energy-efficient countries in the developed world by the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.  Based on current projections, by 2020 the U.S. could have the world's most extensive system of mandatory energy-performance standards for appliances and equipment, the world's largest energy-services industry and efficiency levels for cars and vans comparable to those in the European Union and Japan, energy efficiency policies and programs will triple the amount of energy the U.S. saves in 2020. 10/16 WSJ

5.      Pepco Energy Selected by Appalachian State University for Phase II Energy Efficiency Project - Pepco Energy Services, Inc. has signed a $16.3 million comprehensive energy savings performance contract with Appalachian State University. Pepco Energy Services will install $16.3 million of energy savings measures in 28 buildings that encompasses over 1.6 million square feet. All of the equipment and system improvements will be paid from energy savings over the 13-year contract term. Energy savings measures include building automation controls, building lighting including new LED lighting equipment, high efficiency chillers and air handlers, geothermal heating and solar thermal water systems, hot water conservation equipment, high efficiency data center infrastructure, Dark Sky compliant campus lighting and steam system improvements. 10/11 BUSINESS WIRE

6.      2013 DOE Solid-State Lighting Market Introduction Workshop November 12–14, 2013 • Portland, OR - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/portland2013_registration.html

7.      IALD Announces New Cities for Global Lighting Event 'Chase the Dark' on 14 Nov - New cities participating in IALD's 14 November's global 'Chase the Dark' event, during which architectural lighting designers will take to the streets to compose a series of temporary lighting installations, demonstrating the power of light in urban communities. These displays will be installed for just a matter of moments-the images of each light project will be captured permanently on camera and shared on Twitter using the hashtag #IALDchasedark all evening long. http://www.iald.org/