Kavanagh will take on this new role as head of entertainment lighting with immediate effect, which will see him relocating to Dallas, Texas where he is tasked with growing Philips Lighting's presence in the entertainment sector - specifically with lighting for theaters, festivals, experiential retail outlets, theme parks, arts venues, exhibition spaces, leisure venues, holiday destinations and the night club industry.
Kavanagh has extensive commercial and technical experience pertinent to his new role.
"I am developing a sector-specific strategy that will greatly enhance how the Entertainment team works and take the business to the next level," explains Kavanagh. "At Philips Lighting, we have an unparalleled degree of innovation, passion and technical expertise. My job is to put this at the forefront of everything we do.
"The time is ripe for the business to flourish and delight our customers with trail-blazing technical ingenuity in entertainment lighting that meets - and, indeed, surpasses - their business needs. We have an incredible product portfolio, unparalleled in the industry, and a passionate global team with deep industry knowledge and expertise. I am delighted that initial feedback from our customers has been very positive."
Kavanagh is a dual US and Irish citizen and has held a series of senior positions - predominantly in Silicon Valley, California - where he oversaw innovation in product development, operations, procurement and supply chain. He joined Philips in 2013 as SVP of Procurement Engineering, based at Philips Lighting's Amsterdam office in the Netherlands, where he managed a multi-billion annual spend and a global team of 300 procurement engineers. In this position he has been lauded for transforming team structures to deliver double digit annual savings.
(Jim Evans)
