Lighting control manufacturer WattStopper, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based part of the Legrand group, announced today the resignation of its president, Jerry Mix, and the immediate appointment of Dean Pournaras to that position. Mix, who co-founded Wattstopper 28 years ago, will be joining Finelite as chief executive officer on January 1, 2012.
Pournaras has been a member of the WattStopper management team for the past seven years, rising to his current position as VP of sales and marketing, after 15 years with Legrand/Pass & Seymour, where he served in a number of director-level sales and marketing roles that included the retail and electrical distribution channels. Pournaras is a graduate of St. Mary's College and earned his MBA from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.
In announcing the change, Wattstopper credited Mix with "countless" contributions to both the company and the lighting controls industry, including the development of many industry-first product innovations as well as spearheading recognition of lighting controls as a reliable and effective energy efficiency technology. Under his leadership, WattStopper evolved from a startup to a $120+ million company offering comprehensive energy efficient lighting control solutions for commercial and residential applications. Mix currently sits on the advisory board of the California Lighting Technology Center, as well as the boards of Finelite, ETM Tailored Power Subsystems, and Finis. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona.