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.

Spencer succeeded company founder Yon Sung as Chief Executive Officer in 2020. He joined MaxLite as president and chief operating officer in December 2018, and under his leadership, the company has established a strategic growth plan to position MaxLite as the easiest lighting company to do business with.

Prior to MaxLite, Spencer spent six years with Phoenix Contact, serving as general manager of the company’s U.S. subsidiary, and vice president of its device connector business in the Americas. Spencer is a veteran of the electrical and lighting industries, having held progressively senior positions with Cooper Industries, Generation Brands – Sea Gull Lighting/Monte Carlo Fans, Affiliated Distributors, Motorola, Leviton and GE. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. Spencer also served as an armor officer in the U.S. Army.

Dennis focuses on strengthening and improving MaxLite’s financial management system, processes and technology tools to support the continued sales growth of the company. He brings more than 20 years of experience in finance, operations and IT leadership to MaxLite, including five years as CFO of Ward Leonard, a leading manufacturer of motors, controls and power generation products. Dennis previously held senior leadership positions at several public and private companies that include Unicorr Packaging Group, Numet Industries and Rockwood Service Corporation. He holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota.

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.

Jeff focuses on broadening MaxLite’s existing distributor and agent relationships, and forming productive new C&I partnerships across the U.S. and Canada. He has more than 25 years of experience in sales management and lighting, including senior leadership of distribution, OEM and consumer sales channels. Prior to joining MaxLite, he was vice president of sales at Universal Lighting Technologies. There he was responsible for driving the company’s sales strategy in the distribution and OEM channels. Bristol previously held key sales and marketing leadership roles at Osram Sylvania, Philips and Westinghouse. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the State University of New York.

Brendan leads MaxLite’s global manufacturing and supply chain strategy, including inventory planning, quality, assembly, distribution and opportunity capture. He works closely with our leadership team and manufacturing partners to develop and implement strategies that drive operational efficiency, and optimize the quality and speed with which we are able to serve our lighting customers. Brendan was previously director of product management for the MaxLite indoor commercial portfolio, and drove significant year-over-year revenue growth in the contractor, multi-residential and specification segments. Prior to joining MaxLite, Brendan advanced through leadership positions in operations, product management and engineering at Acuity Brands/Mark Lighting, Philips Lighting, Lockheed Martin and United Defense. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Penn State University and MBA in finance from Temple University.

Barbara oversees all human resources activities for MaxLite, including policy and procedure, payroll and benefit management, hiring practices and personnel development. She works closely with our leadership team and benefit providers to support MaxLite’s strategic goals, and position our company and employees for continued growth and success. Barbara has extensive experience in identifying and implementing HRIS solutions for companies of varied sizes and budgets. Prior to joining MaxLite, she held leadership positions in human resources at Brand Connections and CyberShift. Barbara is an alumna of Ramapo College, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in political science.