Zia Eftekhar has been appointed chief executive officer of Philips Professional Luminaires North America, effective January 1, 2010. Eftekhar will succeed Kaj den Daas, a 33-year veteran of Philips Lighting, who will continue as chairman of Philips Lighting North America and concentrate on supporting the company’s legislative activities and participation in industry associations.

Eftekhar is a 40-year veteran of the lighting industry and currently
CEO of the Philips Lightolier Group. Since 1992 he
has been the president of Lightolier and a director of The Genlyte
Group, the publicly traded parent of Lightolier
acquired by Philips in 2008.  

Under Eftekhar’s leadership, Philips says Lightolier has evolved to
reflect the needs of its customers by introducing business services,
such as the Energy Services Group, and technological innovations that
reflect the demand for energy-efficient lighting.