Philips Lighting has announced the appointment of David Gardner to the role of Country Manager and Managing Director for the Australia and New Zealand region.

Gardner was brought on board following the retirement of incumbent Rob Fletcher.

Gardner brings with him a wealth of experience from Schneider Electric, where he was vice president of Clipsal and Schneider Electric’s partner business.

He will lead a team of over 120 employees across the two countries, and has been tasked with capitalising on industry trends and growth opportunities for the company.

He told IoT Hub that he is excited to join the company at a time where “the progression of lighting is offering great outcomes for a number of industries.”

“As a company, we are continuing to focus on leading the market by investing in new systems and services that offer more than just illumination, [and] we look forward to bringing more and more of these sorts of innovations to the local market," he added.

The range of connected products that Philips Lighting provides is varied, and includes connected lighting systems with Power Over Ethernet for office and commercial buildings, indoor positioning systems for retail stores, and the CityTouch platform for public spaces.

“All of these systems optimise light depending on the space,” Gardner explained.

“For example, our Indoor Positioning product uses visual light communication (VLC), allowing each luminaire to send out a code which can be detected by a smart device and assist shoppers in wayfinding through the store to improve their shopping experience.”

Gardner said that Philips Lighting will build on the benefits it provides to its core market, which includes the commercial building sector, warehouse and logistics, sports and stadiums, retail and hospitality, and primary industries.

He added that collaboration with local companies is set to continue, as will the international distribution of local innovation.

“Philips Lighting Australia is always looking for local partners to collaborate with to bring lighting innovations to the Australian and New Zealand markets,” he said.

“In addition to Philips Dynalite being based in Sydney, there are a number of locally-developed lighting controls and systems which are used across the world in projects.”