Acuity Brands Announces Election of Board Members and Promotion of John Morgan To Chief Operating Officer
Deavenport is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Eastman Chemical Company. He joined Eastman Chemical Company in 1960. He currently serves as a director on the boards of AmSouth Bancorporation; King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Milliken & Company; and Theragenics Corporation.
North is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VSI Enterprises, Inc., a Georgia-based manufacturer of videoconferencing systems. Previously, North served in various positions at BellSouth Corporation from 1972 through 1997, most recently as President, Consumer Services. In this role, she presided over BellSouth's largest business unit. North currently serves as a director on the boards of MAPICS, Inc.; Simtrol, Inc.; and Winn- Dixie Stores, Inc.
Acuity Brands also announced organizational changes effective July 1, 2002. John K. Morgan is elected to the position of Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Acuity Brands. Morgan's career with the Acuity Lighting Group has spanned 25 years in various managerial positions, with his most recent role being President of Holophane. Also, Kenneth W. Honeycutt, Jr., President of the Acuity Lighting Group, was named Chief Executive Officer of the lighting business. With the promotion of Morgan, Honeycutt will now be responsible for all of the Acuity Lighting Group's operations, including Holophane. In addition, the company announced that James H. Heagle, President of the Acuity Specialty Products Group, will also become Chief Executive Officer of the specialty products business.
James S. Balloun, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Brands, said, "With the election of Earnie Deavenport and Judi North to our Board, we are adding two individuals who have deep strength in running large organizations and who will be helpful in a number of areas including consumer marketing, technology, and specialty products. We are pleased that they have chosen to join our Board, bringing it to a size we believe is more appropriate for our company. The independence and diversity in background of these new directors will serve our company well."
Balloun continued, "The appointment of John Morgan as Chief Operating Officer and Ken Honeycutt's additional responsibilities over all of our lighting businesses take us an important step forward. Positioning John Morgan as Chief Operating Officer will enable him to continue to follow through on steps to build Holophane and its performance, to work with Ken Honeycutt on further developing our overall competitive position in lighting, and to facilitate the sharing of common resources across our businesses. He will also be responsible for organization-wide initiatives including sourcing, marketing strategies, leadership development, and branding strategy.
"Ken Honeycutt, as Chief Executive Officer of the Acuity Lighting Group, will now be positioned to lead the further development of this business, which is the world's largest lighting fixture manufacturer with the best combination of capabilities in the industry. By combining these strengths to enhance our ability to go to market in various ways with a wide range of products, we will have both the advantage of scale and the ability to focus on different markets with different needs. As Chief Executive Officer of the Acuity Specialty Products Group, Jim Heagle will continue his focused drive for increased branding and for extending Acuity Specialty Products' market position in diverse markets."
Acuity Brands, Inc., whose businesses had fiscal year 2001 sales of approximately $2.0 billion, is comprised of the Acuity Lighting Group and Acuity Specialty Products. The Acuity Lighting Group is the world's largest lighting fixture manufacturer and includes brands such as Lithonia(R), Holophane(R), Peerless(R), and Hydrel(R). Acuity Specialty Products is a leading provider of specialty chemicals and includes brands such as Zep(R), Enforcer(R), and Selig(TM). Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Acuity Brands employs 11,800 people and has operations throughout North America and in Europe.
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SOURCE Acuity Brands, Inc.
CONTACT: Karen Nocher of Acuity Brands, Inc., +1-404-853-1437 URL: http://www.acuitybrands.com http://www.prnewswire.com
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