Acuity Brands Names Peter Han President of Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG) and Acquires Artificial Intelligence Accelerator Rockpile Ventures
Acuity Brands has appointed Peter Han as President of its new Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), previously known as the Intelligent Buildings business. The move aims to enhance growth in software and AI solutions. The ISG now includes Atrius® and Distech Controls™, along with an acquisition of Rockpile Ventures, a Seattle-based AI startup accelerator. With leaders like Han and Dinesh Narayanan, ISG is positioned to innovate by integrating AI technologies with Acuity's existing infrastructure. This strategic shift is expected to make spaces smarter and more efficient.
- Appointment of Peter Han as President of ISG to drive growth in software and AI solutions.
- Acquisition of Rockpile Ventures strengthens Acuity's position in the AI market.
- Potential for increased revenue through integration of AI technologies with existing infrastructure.
- None.
Cloud and Software Veteran Peter Han to Drive Growth in ISG
Atlanta, May 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI; “Acuity”) a market-leading industrial technology company, today announced Peter Han, co-founder of Rockpile Ventures, as President of Acuity’s newly-named Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). Formerly referred to as Acuity’s Intelligent Buildings business, ISG includes Atrius® and Distech Controls™. Rockpile co-founder Dinesh Narayanan is now Vice President of Business Development of ISG. The addition of these leaders and the acquisition of Rockpile Ventures, a Seattle-based accelerator of early-stage artificial intelligence (AI) companies, better position Acuity for growth in solutions, software, and cloud application development.
“Attracting talented leaders is at the heart of our ability to continue delivering on our growth strategy,” said Neil Ashe, CEO, Acuity Brands. “We are thrilled to welcome Peter Han, Dinesh Narayanan and Rockpile Ventures to Acuity. Peter is well-known for driving business transformation with hardware and software solutions across verticals, and Dinesh along with the Rockpile team have supported that direction by building stakes in leading edge AI startups.”
Acuity now holds Rockpile’s equity interests in AI startups. Rockpile’s portfolio technologies have been deployed at leading enterprises across the energy, manufacturing, and retail verticals.
“We see great opportunities at Acuity to combine our existing footprint of sensors and back-office infrastructure with new AI models in the cloud,” said Peter Han, President, Intelligent Spaces Group, Acuity Brands. “We are building systems to sense, think, and act at scale and to use Acuity’s reach and capability to deploy those systems to make spaces smarter, safer, and greener.”
Han has a track record of delivering change and revenue growth through 25 years in the technology industry. He will lead ISG teams based in Atlanta, Montreal, San Francisco, and Seattle. Before Rockpile, he worked as Chief Marketing Officer of Supermicro (NASDAQ: SMCI), a
Narayanan was formerly head of Microsoft’s devices incubation group, where he partnered with Azure and AI engineering, marketing, and business-development teams to build out edge solutions. He worked with cross-functional groups creating the markets for autonomous systems and ambient sensors.
About Acuity Brands
Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. The Company designs, manufactures, and brings to market products and services that make the world more brilliant, productive, and connected including building management systems, lighting, lighting controls, and location-aware applications. Acuity Brands achieves growth through the development of innovative new products and services.
Through the Acuity Business System, Acuity Brands achieves customer-focused efficiencies that allow the Company to increase market share and deliver superior returns. The Company looks to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals.
Acuity Brands is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company is powered by approximately 11,000 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com.
About Rockpile Ventures
Rockpile Ventures, a part of Acuity Brands’ Intelligent Spaces Group, is an accelerator of Edge AI startups. Rockpile Ventures helps early-stage companies drive co-engineering and co-selling partnerships with major cloud ecosystems, enabling faster adoption from proof-of-concept trials to market scale. It is based in Seattle, Washington. Learn more at www.rockpileventures.com.
Investor Contact:
Charlotte McLaughlin
Vice President, Investor Relations
(404) 853-1456
investorrelations@acuitybrands.com
Media Contact:
Candace Steele Flippin
Senior Vice President, Chief Communications Officer
candace@acuitybrands.com
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