NEW YORK — Bill Groener, a 30-year industry veteran, has joined A.C.T Lighting as vice president of business development, a new position. He will be based in the New York metropolitan area.
A.C.T Lighting president and CEO Bob Gordon noted that Groener’s experience in design, teaching, sales and management would be an asset to the company. “In his new role at A.C.T Lighting he will focus on the specifier market by introducing our product lines to theater consultants and architectural lighting designers and supporting their efforts to use them on projects,” Gordon said.
Groener credited Gordon and A.C.T. Lighting for their success in identifying future trends and backing up that ability with service and support. “I am excited to carry that message (and more) to the specification community and eager to get started,” Groener said.
Groener most recently served as president of Tim Hunter Design, LCC in Stamford, CT. Prior to THD, he served in several roles within PRG, working on projects at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, Radio City Music Hall, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and the CNN Studios at Time Warner Center.
Groener has also held key positions with Color Kinetics, Barbizon, elliptipar and Strand Lighting. He has also served as principal and sole owner of BGr + A, a sales agency serving the lighting needs of the theater, television, film and architectural markets.
Groener has also worked as a show lighting designer at WED Enterprises, now Walt Disney Imagineering, where he did architectural and theatrical lighting design at EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World and Disneyland. He also has served in both technical director and designer/consultant roles for a number of theatrical companies and at the University of California, Santa Barbara. On the teaching side, Groener was assistant professor/technical director at the Department of Theatre at Williams College, Williamstown, MA.
Groener has B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of California at Santa Barbara and has done post-graduate studies at London Business School and Harvard Business School.
He serves as one of nine members of the Governing Body of PLASA, is the immediate past president of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association and the current Vice-Chair of PLASA in North America.
Groener also serves on the Board of Directors for the ESTA Foundation and the Southern CT Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He is a member of several industry associations including USITT, IESNA, SEGD and TEA and actively supports their programs.
For more information, please visit www.actlighting.com.
