U.S. based D.light Design, an energy solutions company that distributes lighting products in developing countries, has recently appointed Board Chairman Donn Tice as CEO. Tice replaces founding CEO Sam Goldman who is now Chief Customer Officer. The company has distributed more than 150,000 solar lanterns and has plans to reach 100 million people by 2020. D.light Design, which offers affordable solar energy and lighting solutions, announced today that the board chairman Donn Tice would be the chief executive officer of the company.
Tice, who has been driving innovation in consumer products for over 30 years, will focus on expanding distribution, driving global marketing and developing D.light’s international team to serve the requirements of its growing customer base. Tice has been an advisor to D.light since March, 2008, and has served on the company’s board of directors since November, 2008, a Press statement said.
D.light’s product offerings currently include three solar lighting systems – the S250 solar lantern and mobile charger, the highly affordable S10 lantern and the Solata S380 study light. By 2020, the company aims to improve the lives of 100 million individuals.
D.light is financed by social enterprise funds Omidyar Network, Acumen Fund and Gray Matters Capital, with investments from venture capital firms including Nexus India Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Garage Technology Ventures and the Mahindra Group.
Donn brings a successful track record in consumer products, clean technology, and global marketing and distribution to D.light. He has built a USD 100 million-plus global business and raised USD 100 million in capital. His passion for BOP consumers began as a United Nations Fellow.
Incidentally, Donn was mentored by the late C.K. Prahalad. What’s more, as the founder of Sustainable Solutions (2006-2010), he accelerated the growth of venture capital-backed consumer companies.
As the CEO of the start-up Nanotex (2003-2006), Tice’s team expanded the distribution of 90 brands across 30 countries through100 distribution partners, thus creating a 25x valuation increase. And his performance as the CEO of Winterland (1997–2002) was extremely commendable as sales grew 3.5x, from USD 30 million to USD 110 million.
Apart from appointing a CEO, D.light has also rejigged the senior management team. Tice succeeds founding CEO Sam Goldman who has been named Chief Customer Officer and will be responsible for ensuring that customer priorities, values and experiences continue to be at the centre of the company’s product development. Ned Tozun continues as President, maintaining global leadership responsibility for developing new markets. Goldman and Tozun will both continue to serve on D.light’s board of directors.
By: Madhav Chanchani http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/dlight-design-names-board-chairman-donn-tice-as-ceo_533286.html
http://www.dlightdesign.com/home_global.php