Yon founded MaxLite in NJ in 1993 as a joint venture with his father’s South Korea-based company, SK Enterprise Co, Ltd., a pioneer in manufacturing energy-efficient fluorescent lighting products since 1955. In 1998, Yon acquired 100 percent ownership of the company and began to focus on developing new business channels within the green technology industry

Under Yon’s leadership, MaxLite was one of the first manufacturers in the industry to move into LED technology and has grown to be a global leader in energy efficient lighting solutions. In 2020, Yon transitioned from the role of president and CEO to chairman of a board of advisors that guides the company’s strategic direction. He works closely with MaxLite’s executive leadership team to position the company for continued growth.

Yon holds a MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Prior to MaxLite, Yon worked in international banking at J.P. Morgan and at Marine Midland Bank for 13 years in Seoul, Korea and in New York City as VP and Manager of Asia Pacific Region.

A lighting industry veteran, Lance Hollner brings over two decades of lighting expertise and knowledge to MaxLite, along with a strong track record of delivering results, driving continuous improvement, and developing talent. Much of his career has been spent at manufacturers including Acuity, Lutron, Encelium Technologies, and Avi-on Controls, holding various GM, Sales Leadership, and Product Management roles.

He brings considerable experience with turnkey renovation lighting and EV infrastructure sales, and very relevant experience working with international suppliers and contract manufacturers. He has an engineering degree from Georgia Tech and will be working out of the company’s headquarters in New Jersey.

Paul brings over 30 years of finance and management experience to our team and has a track record of building enterprise value and leading financial transformations in various industries. At his former company he reengineered all aspects of finance and accounting, implemented a robust business intelligence system, and helped drive business process and organizational improvements that supported the company in tripling its sales during his nearly eight-year tenure. Paul, a Certified Public Accountant, began his career in public accounting at Ernst & Young after graduating with a BS in Accounting from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Umesh leads a cross-functional team to develop and bring to market product enhancements and new product ideas and technologies that will grow MaxLite’s market share in the commercial, industrial, residential, OEM and horticulture channels. Umesh brings more than 15 years of experience in product and business improvement to MaxLite. Prior to joining MaxLite, Umesh was principal product manager at Amazon, where he developed and managed the product and software innovation roadmaps for Amazon Go retail stores. He has held progressively senior leadership positions in product management, manufacturing-engineering and corporate development across diverse organizations ranging from startup to Fortune 10. As senior director of product management at Philips Lighting, he led a team of product managers in overseeing the growth of the company’s multimillion-dollar downlight and track portfolio for the Americas. Prior to that, he was director of business improvement, providing strategic guidance and data analysis for the company’s wide portfolio of product categories and business units. He previously held positions in engineering and corporate finance at VantaCore Partners, UBS Investment Bank, Coherent, Viavi Solutions and Kennametal. Umesh holds an MBA from Yale University.

Dan joined Maxlite as a Senior Engineering Manager in April 2019 and was subsequently promoted to the position of Engineering Director in March 2020. In September 2022, he assumed the role of Vice President of Operations, where he is now tasked with overseeing the supply chain, sourcing, inventory management, warehouse operations, logistics, manufacturing, and quality control. Dans primary focus revolves around enhancing operational processes and procedures at Maxlite.

Prior to joining Maxlite, Dan accumulated a decade of experience at Samsung Electronics, where he held a principal engineer position in product management and LED chip development. During his tenure at Samsung Electronics, he spent the last three years as the head of the North American LED sales support team. In this capacity, he was responsible for sales management, technical support, order management, and business development. Notably, Dan received the Award of the Year on two occasions – once as an engineer in 2010(Samsung LED) and again as a sales professional in 2016(LED business team, Samsung Electronics).

Dan holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Hanyang University, South Korea.

Elio brings over 20 years of experience in the LED lighting industry and a strong background in marketing to his new role. He will oversee the product management and engineering of indoor and outdoor luminaires and lamps, as well as the company’s overall marketing. He will lead his team of product managers and engineers as well as the marketing group from the company’s headquarters in New Jersey.

Prior to joining MaxLite, Kim was Head of the Lighting Marketing Group at Samsung Electronics in Korea. While at Samsung, he also worked as Principal Engineer and Head of Product Management and Application Engineering for the company’s LED Business Team. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Bachelor’s and a Master’s of Science degrees in Physics from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Mark brings over 20 years’ experience in the lighting/controls industry while working at Lutron Electronics, with roles in three areas: Product R&D and Mechanical Design for their Residential Solutions, Manufacturing/Operations (including leadership assignments at Lutron’s Caribbean manufacturing locations), and HR Strategy, where he was focused on every company’s key resource - their people - for Lutron’s Commercial Service and Systems business.

Originally from Cleveland, and a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mark began his professional career with multiple Co-Op work assignments at Toyota, where he started his training and practice of Lean Methodologies, 5S, and Kaizen. Mark is located in Indianapolis, IN near MaxLite’s largest distribution center.

Todd has more than 30 years experience in a variety of industries including international trade and consumer electronics. Today, Todd manages the operational and financial aspects of MaxLite. Since he joined MaxLite in 2006, he has helped MaxLite to build strong supply chain management systems and banking relationships. He launched MaxLite’s China-to-China original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business in 2008, and established a subsidiary of MaxLite in China in 2010.