Following a successful run of nearly seven years marked by many achievements, Bill Sims will depart Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions, formerly Color Kinetics, at the end of June 2008. He will be succeeded in the role of CEO by Jeffrey Cassis, currently the company's senior vice president and COO.
Under Sims' leadership, Color Kinetics achieved sustained profitability and its revenues grew 30% per year on average between 2001 and 2007. He guided the company's strategic direction, sales operations, expansion of its OEM business, and the creation of its successful licensing program. He also oversaw the company's most pivotal milestones, including its successful initial public offering in June 2004 and its acquisition by Philips in August 2007 for just under $1 billion.
As a result of this and other acquisitions, totaling more than $4.2 billion in the last two years alone, Philips has emerged as a leader in the increasingly competitive solid-state lighting market. One of the key advantages is its leading competency at every layer required to enable solid-state lighting, including chips and components, LED light engines and modules, and complete LED lighting systems that comprise fixture, power and control—the latter category made stronger through its acquisition of Color Kinetics.
"It has been a privilege and a thrill to be part of an industry-changing company whose technology breathed life into a century-old commodity - changing our very perception of light," says Sims. "I believe the future of solid-state lighting knows no ceiling, and that the value of Color Kinetics will help Philips build a formidable lead in a market that will only continue to grow in coming years."
"At this stage of our companies' integration, I'm confident that all the pieces are falling into place for Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions to grow bigger, better, faster—from engineering and product development to our expanded sales channels and exciting OEM partnership opportunities. It's therefore the perfect time for me to move on to new ventures, knowing that what we built will not just sustain, but thrive," Sims adds.
Notes Cassis, "Bill's contributions are felt across every aspect of our organization, and I'm thrilled for the opportunity to keep building on the momentum achieved under his leadership. Despite its incredible progress to date, we've only just scratched the surface of what can be accomplished with solid-state lighting—from widespread energy conservation to entirely new applications of light. We believe that Philips' unique combination of proprietary technologies, product offerings, installation base and expertise at all levels of the value chain will continue to keep us at the front of the pack."
Cassis joined Color Kinetics in November 2006, and since that time has managed day-to-day operations of numerous corporate divisions, including engineering, product and program management, manufacturing, materials management and quality. He has played an instrumental role in bridging the crucial steps between product conception, development, and distribution. He has more than 27 years of experience in serving the discrete manufacturing, semiconductor, and electronics industries.