Royal Philips Electronics announced on Dec. 8 that Zia Eftekhar has been appointed CEO of Philips Professional Luminaires North America, effective Jan. 1. 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 particularly on supporting the company's legislative activities and participation in industry associations such as the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Electrical Distributors.
Eftekhar is a 40-year veteran of the lighting industry and currently CEO of the Philips Lightolier Group, the single largest business within Philips Professional Luminaires. 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. Eftekhar played a crucial role in the integration of the Genlyte businesses into Philips, and in his new role he will lead the drive to further grow Philips' leadership position in professional lighting systems and solutions in North America.