Electricalmarketing 3071 Lsi Color 1024
Electricalmarketing 3071 Lsi Color 1024
Electricalmarketing 3071 Lsi Color 1024
Electricalmarketing 3071 Lsi Color 1024
Electricalmarketing 3071 Lsi Color 1024

Leadership Changes at LSI Industries

Aug. 21, 2018
The company is also reorganizing its structure around markets rather than products.

LSI Industries Inc. (LYTS), Cincinnati: Wilfred (Bill) O’Gara was appointed chairman of the board, succeeding Gary Kreider, LSI’s chairman since 2014.

Kreider will remain a board member until a successor director is appointed, at which time he intends to retire from the board.  The company also said Ronald Brown, CEO, will stand for election as a director at the company’s annual shareholders meeting in November.

O’Gara, who is a member of LSI’s board and chairs its audit committee, is managing director of Buffalo Fork Holdings, LLC, an investment company, and previously served as CEO of Isoclima SpA, which produces transparent armor and other specialized glass and polycarbonate products for military and civilian armored vehicles.

LSI also rolled out a realignment of its business structure to organize it around key markets and customers rather than around its core products. As part of the move, LSI will eliminate president positions for LSI Lighting, Atlas Lighting and LSI Graphics and the separate support organizations aligned around the product lines. Instead, LSI will be organized as one entity focused on serving key customer markets with its full package of capabilities.

A new chief commercial officer role has been created which will be responsible for leading LSI’s sales organizations and market channels for all LSI products, technology and services. Jeff Croskey, president of LSI’s Graphics Segment since 2015, will assume this role. The company is also creating a new chief marketing officer position, and the search is underway to fill that role.

John Bagwell, president of Atlas Lighting, will become senior vice president of Product Development & Management for all of LSI’s lighting, graphics and technology products. His background includes sales, marketing and executive level roles in various lighting controls and lighting manufacturing companies, including Acuity Brands, Synergy Lighting Controls and Automated Logic Corporation.

Sales teams will now be organized around key markets where LSI’s total package is valued, and procurement and logistics will be combined as well. Sylvia Astrop will become senior vice president of Global Sourcing, leading all of LSI’s procurement, sourcing and logistics functions.

The company reported a loss of $2.7 million in the fourth fiscal quarter on flat sales of $83.4 million. For the year LSI saw sales rise 3% in 2018 to $342 million. Overall strength in the company’s digital signage business offset declines in lighting, which saw sales fall 8% below the prior year. Lighting’s shortfall came in general commercial and industrial products and company executives said they continue to evaluate the broad C&I market. LED sales now represent 93% of all lighting fixture sales for LSI.