- News
1 March 2019
Lumileds appoints Jonathan Rich as CEO; Mark Adams to remain in advisory role
Lumileds LLC of San Jose, CA, USA has appointed Dr Jonathan Rich as CEO. He succeeds Mark Adams, who is stepping down as CEO and from the board of directors but will remain in an advisory role to the company. “It has been a great experience leading Lumileds’ transition to an independent company that is focused on delivering lighting solutions,” comments Adams.
“Mark Adams has made significant contributions to Lumileds during his tenure, leading the transition to an independent company and cultivating a culture of innovation and customer focus,” comments Rob Seminara, a senior partner at global alternative investment manager Apollo and chairman of the board of Lumileds. “Jon will be joining Lumileds to drive the next phase of innovation and growth.”
“I am looking forward to building on the company’s differentiated lighting technology foundation to increase the value we can deliver to customers across a broad set of industries,” says Rich. “The opportunity for lighting innovation to make a positive impact on safety and sustainability is tremendous.”
From 2010 to 2018, Rich was chairman & CEO of Berry Global Inc (a Fortune 500 specialty materials and consumer packaging company).
Previously, Rich was president & CEO of specialty chemical company Momentive of Albany, NY, USA. Prior to that, he held positions with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, first as president of the Global Chemicals business and subsequently as president of Goodyear’s North American Tire Division. Rich spent his formative years at General Electric, first as a research scientist at GE Global Research and then in a series of management positions with GE Plastics. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been a visiting lecturer at Cornell University Johnson School of Business since 2017.