image of Neil M. Ashe
Neil M. Ashe
Chairman, President And Chief Executive Officer
Neil M. Ashe has served as President and CEO of the Acuity Brands since January 2020. He has served as Chairman since January 2021. Prior to joining Acuity Brands, he served as CEO of Faster Horses LLC from February 2017 to December 2019; as President and Chief Executive Officer of Global eCommerce & Technology at Walmart, Inc. from January 2012 through January 2017; as President of CBS Interactive from July 2008 through July 2011; and as Chief Executive Officer of CNET Networks, Inc. from 2006 to 2008. He received a BS in Business Administration from Georgetown University and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
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Barry R. Goldman
Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Barry Goldman, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, has over 30 years of legal experience in the real estate, lighting, and building management industries. Barry’s been with Acuity Brands since its inception in 2001. As General Counsel, Barry leads the Company’s Law and Business Environment team overseeing Company legal matters, including corporate governance, compliance, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, intellectual property, privacy, government relations, litigation, and risk management. Barry is passionate about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues and created EarthLIGHT, the way the Company coordinates its efforts around ESG considerations, measures its performance in key areas, and communicates about those efforts to our various stakeholders. He also led the formation of and served as executive sponsor of a new Employee Resource Group – the Veterans Network. Before Acuity Brands, Barry served as Vice President and Associate Counsel for National Service Industries Inc. (NSI) (1997-2001). Barry serves on the Board of Directors of the McClung Lighting Research Foundation and the National Association of Manufacturers. He earned a BA degree with Special Honors in Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin and JD and MBA degrees from the University of Georgia.
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Karen J. Holcom
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Karen Holcom, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has over 30 years of financial experience. Karen’s been with Acuity Brands since its inception in 2001. As CFO, Karen leads the Company’s financial strategy to support its future growth and long-term value creation and is responsible for the global financial organization, including accounting, audit, financial planning, investor relations, tax and treasury functions. She has served as the Executive Sponsor of Acuity's Women's Network Employee Resource Group and provided strategic leadership to a new Employee Resource Group - Mind Matters (Mental Health Group). Before Acuity Brands, Karen served as Director, Planning and Analysis, National Service Industries, Inc. (NSI) (1998-2001). Ms. Holcom is also a Certified Public Accountant, serves on the Board of the Atlanta Police Foundation, and is a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. She earned a BS degree in Accounting from Clemson University and an MBA from Georgia State University.
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Dianne S. Mills
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Dianne Mills, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, has over 30 years of senior HR leadership experience at global retail, technology, and financial services companies. As Chief Human Resources Officer, Dianne leads the Company’s Human Resources team overseeing all HR matters including talent development and acquisition, succession planning, associate engagement and listening, associate relations, labor relations, total rewards, and driving culture and transformation to support the Company’s future growth. Dianne is a transformational leader, passionate about driving business results by reimagining the corporate workplace through a values-driven, inclusive culture. She joined Acuity in 2020 and is establishing Acuity Brands as the place where the best people come to do their best work. In addition, she is driving a differentiated associate experience, improving performance by developing every associate to their potential, and creating a people function to support the Company's future growth. Before joining Acuity Brands, Dianne served as a Principal at Mills Consulting (2017-2019), SVP and Chief People Officer for Walmart's eCommerce Division (2014-2017), and Head of HR for PayPal (2009-2014). Dianne earned a BS in Finance from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech.
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Bhavani Amirthalingam
Senior Vice President and Chief Growth and Transformation Officer

Bhavani Amirthalingam, SVP and Chief Growth and Transformation Officer, has over 25 years of leadership experience driving growth, operational excellence, and large-scale business transformations at global Fortune 500 organizations across technology, energy, and industrial companies. Prior to Acuity, Bhavani served as the EVP, Chief Customer and Technology Officer for Ameren, a Fortune 500 energy company with over $7.5B in revenue providing reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy to over 3.3M customers. As a member of executive leadership team, she led the customer and technology organizations transforming the customer experience, driving operational efficiency at scale and enabling the connected grid of the future. Prior to Ameren, she led the business and technology transformation as a member of the North American executive leadership team for Schneider Electric, a Global energy management company. In this role, Bhavani led efforts to transform the commercial sales, services and channel operations and digitize the manufacturing and supply chain operations, including enabling the smart factory of the future. Prior to Schneider, Bhavani served as the Chief Information Officer and VP, Customer Solutions & Innovation for World Wide Technology, a leading systems integrator and supply chain solutions provider for technology products and solutions across the globe. Bhavani also serves on the board of a public company Core and Main, the leading provider of water, wastewater, fire, and storm protection products/services in North America.
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April Appling
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Events

April Appling, Vice President, Corporate Communications and Events, has over 20 years of industry experience and leadership in marketing, communications, sales and customer experience. She joined Acuity in 2002 and currently leads the Company’s efforts to shape the corporate narrative, enhance the corporate brand and protect the Company’s reputation. Her strategic approach to communications is fostering a culture of transparency, consistency and engagement. Throughout her career at Acuity, she has spearheaded successful campaigns and events, significantly raising the Company’s profile and strengthening stakeholder and customer relationships. Her talent for messaging and meaningful engagement showcases her industry insight and commitment to the Company’s values and goals. Before leading the corporate communication organization, April founded the sales channel effectiveness function to optimize global sales strategies, operational efficiency, and organizational cohesion. She also directed the channel enablement and digital marketing organizations, improving how Acuity communicates through digital platforms and customer engagements. April serves on the board of the Besal Fund and is a member of Acuity’s ESG, Inclusion and Belonging, and Agency Councils. She holds a BBA in International Business and Marketing from The University of Georgia.
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Philippe Brzusczak
Senior Vice President, Corporate Development And Strategy

Philippe Brzusczak has extensive experience in corporate finance and M&A execution with global organizations. He joined Acuity in 2022 to lead Corporate Development & Strategy with the responsibility of identifying and evaluating mergers and acquisitions (M&A) opportunities, conducting ongoing assessments of the industry and competitive landscape, and building strategic industry relationships that align with our strategy and goals. Before joining Acuity Brands, Philippe was a Vice President at J.P. Morgan's Investment Bank, where he focused on industrial companies. In this capacity, he was responsible for identifying, evaluating, and executing mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions. He announced and executed more than $20B worth of M&A transactions, including some landmark deals in the industry. Before joining J.P. Morgan, he was a manager at Deloitte's Corporate Finance Advisory in Luxembourg, where he led M&A, financial due diligence, and business valuation projects across Europe. Philippe brings the relevant deal execution expertise required as Acuity looks to expand and find opportunities to transform Acuity Brands into a leading global industrial technology enterprise. He earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Master and Bachelor degree in Business Engineering from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management. He also studied at the National University of Singapore.
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Peter Han
President, Intelligent Spaces Group

Peter Han, President, Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), has a track record of driving revenue growth and organizational change for over 25 years across the technology industry. Focused on making spaces smarter, safer, and greener, he joined Acuity in 2021 and leads product, engineering, marketing, sales, and customer-service teams which deliver hardware and software solutions across multiple industry verticals. Peter’s ISG team includes the Distech Controls® and Atrius brands, with teams based in Atlanta, Montreal, Lyon. Before joining Acuity Brands, Peter co-founded and served as Partner of Rockpile Ventures, an Edge AI accelerator (2019-2021), Chief Marketing Officer at Supermicro, NASDAQ: SMCI (2018-2019), and Vice President, Partner Devices and Solutions at Microsoft, NASDAQ: MSFT (2016-2018). A writer and visual storyteller, Peter published a book with Penguin, “Nobodies to Somebodies”, and produced two documentary movies early in his career. Peter serves on the Tax Increment Financing Board for the city of Dallas, and the Board of Directors of Seattle United, a non-profit soccer club serving 2100 players in the Pacific Northwest. Previously, he served on the Community Economic Revitalization Board for Washington state, and as a Trustee for the Harvard Club of Seattle. He earned an AB from Harvard University.
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Sach Sankpal
President, Acuity Brands Lighting and Controls

Sach Sankpal, President, Acuity Brands Lighting and Controls, has over 30 years of experience in leading top-to-bottom turnarounds, accelerating digital transformation and innovation, and positioning global industrial technology organizations for future growth. He joined Acuity in 2022 and leads the technology and supply chain organizations and deploys the Company’s Better.Smarter.Faster. operating system. Before joining Acuity Brands, Sach served as President, Product and Solutions for Resideo (2020), Senior Vice President, Emerging Industries, Trimble (2015-2020), and President and VP/GM of Safety Products, and VP, Strategic Marketing at Honeywell (2010-2015). He earned a BS from Rutgers University, an MS from the University of Maryland, and an MBA from Dartmouth.