Zumtobel Group AG has announced that Rogier van der Heide has been appointed as Chief Design & Marketing Officer for the Zumtobel Group and its three brands Thorn, Tridonic and Zumtobel. He will begin his new position on December 1, 2014. By creating this new strategic position in the company's leadership, the Austrian Lighting Group recognizes the substantial impact of innovation and design on the further development and performance of all Group brands.

“Design is vital to all brands of the Zumtobel Group, and we have decided to embed design more than ever before in the Group's product creation processes. Consequently, we focus on solutions that take lighting much beyond illumination in every market segment. Rogier’s work demonstrates the fusion of technology, design and emotion to create lighting solutions with unique value for customers and end-users. We are very happy to win Rogier for this exciting position within the Zumtobel Group, and are very much looking forward to him joining our company soon", says Ulrich Schumacher, CEO of Zumtobel Group.
Rogier van der Heide brings twenty-five years of experience in design-led innovation in the lighting industry. He is internationally recognized as a leading architectural lighting design specialist, and has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes, including the Lighting Designer of the Year Award, the International Association of Lighting Design Radiance Award and a number of Red Dot and iF Awards for his product designs. Until recently, Rogier van der Heide was Vice President and Chief Design Officer at Philips Lighting. Before that, as Global Leader of Arup Lighting, Rogier grew and led the world's largest independent lighting design practice. Throughout his career, Rogier van der Heide has also continued his independent work as a specialty designer of art works, entertainment and architectural lighting.

Photo Credit: Nadja Litau