SOLON, Ohio, Feb. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Energy Focus, Inc. (EFOI), a leader in LED lighting technologies, announced that, effective as of February 19, 2017, Dr. Ted Tewksbury, the Company’s Executive Chairman, will now serve as the Company’s Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President.
James Tu has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer and President and both Mr. Tu and Simon Cheng resigned from the Board of Directors effective February 19, 2017.
The leadership change was part of an initiative that is being implemented during the first quarter of 2017 to achieve higher operating efficiencies and reduce the Company’s annual operating costs by approximately $10 million from 2016 levels. The plan includes a workforce reduction of approximately 15%, consolidation of the Company’s office facilities, reorganization of the commercial sales force, integration of engineering and research and development teams, reconfiguration of certain manufacturing lines, and reduction in administrative expenses and professional fees. The Company expects to record a one-time restructuring charge of approximately $1.1 million in its first quarter 2017 associated with these actions.
“James joined the Company as Chairman in 2012 and, through his role on the Board and then as our Chief Executive Officer and President, he has played a pivotal role in our evolution as a leader in LED lighting. During his tenure, the Company was restructured to focus on the sale of our LED lighting products, in particular our military and commercial tubular LED lines of products, into targeted markets. I sincerely thank him for his leadership in executing on this vision for the Company and for setting the stage for future growth,” said Dr. Ron Black, the Company’s lead independent director and former Chairman. “I also thank Simon Cheng for his contributions to the Board and continuing role as an employee. I wish James the best in his future endeavors,” Dr. Black continued.
“Ted’s wealth of experience has allowed him to quickly integrate into the Energy Focus team and identify opportunities to return to profitability and growth. Expanding his role allows him to have a more hands-on approach to drive change, including his recent business restructuring, and we look forward to his leadership of the Company into its next chapter,” commented Dr. Black.
“Serving in a combined role as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President and with a smaller Board will further our strategic efforts to evolve as a more efficient and streamlined organization. Together with other restructuring actions, these first steps will serve as the foundation to return the company to profitable growth in 2017 and beyond. I look forward to discussing these matters with our investors on the Company’s fourth quarter and year-end earnings call,” said Dr. Tewksbury.
Earnings Conference Call
As previously announced, the Company is hosting a public teleconference call to discuss financial results for its quarter and year ended December 31, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on February 23, 2017. To participate in the call, please dial 888-690-2876 if calling within the United States or 913-312-0971 if calling internationally. A replay will be available until March 2, 2017, which can be accessed by dialing 844-512-2921 if calling within the United States or 412-317-6671 if calling internationally. Please use passcode 5192928 to access the replay. The call will additionally be broadcast live and archived for 90 days over the internet accessible in the Investors portion of the Company’s corporate website, under “Events and Presentations” at https://investors.energyfocus.com/events.cfm.
Ted Tewksbury Biographical Information
Dr. Tewksbury is a well-known semiconductor industry executive with a distinguished track record of transforming and building visionary businesses. As the former CEO of Integrated Device Technology, Dr. Tewksbury architected the company’s turnaround from 2008 to 2013, putting it in new businesses such as analog, wireless charging and radio frequency (RF) products. Dr. Tewksbury served on the Board of Directors of Entropic Communications from 2010 to 2015 and, as CEO from 2014 to 2015, led the company’s return to profitability and sale to MaxLinear, where he currently serves on the Board of Directors. Dr. Tewksbury was President and COO of AMI Semiconductor from 2006 to 2008, Managing Director at Maxim Integrated from 2000 to 2006 and held a variety of engineering and management positions at IBM Microelectronics and Analog Devices. Dr. Tewksbury served on the Board of Directors of the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) from 2011 to 2013 and has been a Board Director at Jariet Technologies since its spinoff from Semtech in 2015. Dr. Tewksbury received the B.S. degree in Architecture, as well as M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from MIT.