SOLON, Ohio, March 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Energy Focus, Inc. (Nasdaq:EFOI), a leader in LED lighting technologies, today announced the addition of David Weiss to its Advisory Board. In addition to being a Partner at Bywater Partners, LLC, a consultancy that includes energy efficiency and renewable energy industries since 2013, he is also the Chairman of the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO), the leading national trade organization representing and promoting the energy efficiency and performance contracting industry. Previously, Mr. Weiss was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Pepco Energy Services for 12 years, a provider of competitive energy efficiency services, including renewable energy and combined heat and power projects to commercial, institutional, government and industrial customers.
"We are absolutely delighted to announce Mr. Weiss as the newest member of our Advisory Board," said James Tu, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Focus, Inc. "We admire David's long-term dedication to and sounding success within the Energy Service Company, (ESCO) Industry. We look forward to having his advice and assistance in raising awareness of the environmental and health benefits of our LED lighting products versus fluorescent lighting within the performance contracting industry as we strive to build a leadership position for Energy Focus as an LED lighting provider for the Federal and SMUSH (State, Municipal, University, School and Hospital) markets."
Eric Hilliard, President and Chief Operating Officer of Energy Focus, Inc. added, "The leadership experience and network Mr. Weiss brings will help us expand our ESCO client base and enhance the relationships we have with our current ESCO clients. Having such a well-connected and recognized authority as an advisor to us in the Washington, D.C. area, where our new sales and support office is located, will enable us to accelerate our efforts into the energy efficiency services industry and overall government market."
"I am extremely pleased to bring my experience in the energy efficiency and the lighting industries to help Energy Focus," said Mr. Weiss. "It is clear that LED technology is becoming the light source of the future and has the ability to significantly impact the energy efficiency services industry. Energy Focus' proven tubular LED lamps typically are 50% to 75% more energy efficient than traditional fluorescent lamps, lowering the cost of energy and the carbon footprint, while enhancing the value of performance contracting by funding more infrastructure improvements. I look forward to working with the Energy Focus team to advance LED technologies within the energy efficiency services industry and governmental agencies."
Mr. Weiss joins the Company's Advisory Board, which currently is composed of five key business leaders, who through their industry experience, expertise, and professional networks, advise the Company's executive management team in strategic and business development in various, specific vertical markets.
About David Weiss
David Weiss is a Partner at Bywater Partners, LLC where he specializes in offering strategic and tactical guidance to companies in energy services, renewable energy, utility and distributed energy businesses. He also provides his clients with a well-balanced perspective on issues within the alternative energy markets and leverages his full and diverse range of 25 years of experience in assessing mergers and acquisition targets.
Prior to starting his consulting practice with Bywater, David Weiss was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Pepco Energy Services. Mr. Weiss had overall responsibility for all divisional functions including profit and loss, marketing, business development, operations, project management and project financing. During his 17-year tenure with Pepco Energy Services, he was instrumental in the award of the largest Federal Government Energy Savings Performance Contract and one of the largest Federal co-generation projects for the National Institutes of Health. Mr. Weiss was also responsible for the development and operations of all co-generation, renewable energy and district energy facilities.
Prior to Mr. Weiss tenure with Pepco Energy Services, he managed the implementation of utility demand-side management (DSM) programs and a design/build group for XENERGY. David Weiss has testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Energy to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources as an expert in the energy services field and currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the National Association of Energy Services Companies. Mr. Weiss started his career as an architectural lighting designer; designing lighting for corporate headquarters, decorative exterior building lighting in New York City, Philadelphia and Boston, sporting arenas, nightclubs and museum exhibits.
Forward Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believes," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "seeks," "projects," "intends," "plans," "may," "will," "should," "could," "would" and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from Energy Focus' forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to our history of operating losses and our ability to generate sufficient cash from operations or receive sufficient financing, on acceptable terms, to continue our operations or fund our growth; general economic conditions, including the strength of the construction industry, both in the United States and in other markets in which we operate; our dependence on government customers, in particular the U.S. Navy, and on the levels of funding available to such customers and our ability to satisfactorily fulfill our contractual obligations to such customers; our ability to achieve and manage our growth plans and control expenses to increase sales and improve margins; market acceptance of LED lighting technology; our ability to respond to new lighting technologies and market trends with safe and reliable products; and our ability to compete effectively against companies with greater resources. In light of the foregoing, we caution you not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. For more information about potential factors that could affect the financial results of Energy Focus, please refer to the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Energy Focus disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
About Energy Focus
Energy Focus, Inc. is a leading provider of energy efficient LED lighting products and a developer of energy efficient lighting technology. Our LED Lighting products provide energy savings, aesthetics, safety and maintenance cost benefits over conventional lighting. Our long-standing relationship with the U.S. Government continues to enable us to provide energy efficient LED lighting products to the U.S. Navy and the Military Sealift Command fleets. Customers include national, state and local U.S. government agencies, as well as Fortune 500 companies and many other commercial and industrial clients. Company headquarters are located in Solon, Ohio with additional sales offices in Washington, D.C., New York and the United Kingdom. For more information, see our web site at www.energyfocusinc.com.