Martin Valentine joins Ligman as Global Design Director


3rd October 2017

(UK) – Martin Valentine has left his role as Lighting Expert at the Municipality of Abu Dhabi to become of Global Design Director of the Thailand-based lighting manufacturer, Ligman.

Valentine will be reporting directly to Ligman’s President & CEO Sakchai Manawongsakul and will be relocating to the UK from the Middle East to work alongside Craig Stead, the new UK & EU Sales Director, and his team.

Stead comes to Ligman with 20+ years of experience in the lighting marketplace; previously holding management and director positions within Philips, Urbis-Schreder, Proligic and Nualight and his exceptional sales achievements have been recognised for many years. He is a Member of the Society of Light and Lighting and is a well-known and popular figure within the industry: “I am delighted to be joining Ligman Lighting and entrusted to continue its long history and established international growth within the UK and Europe.”

Valentine’s work will encompass helping to define future Ligman interior and exterior product R&D and linking up with the international lighting design community and clients concerning technology, quality, standards, training, events and marketing. He will liaise with Ligman offices, departments and teams worldwide with a strong focus on supporting our European, Asian, Australian, Middle Eastern and North American markets.

Valentine has worked in the field of specialist lighting design for over 30-years. A Masters graduate from the Bartlett School of Architecture, his experience encompasses a multitude of sectors from government buildings through to national museums, for environments as uniquely diverse as Antarctica and the Middle East, and undertaking varied roles within these spheres from both the designer and client sides. He joins Ligman from his previous role as Lighting Expert for Abu Dhabi, where his work included leading the implementation of an Emirate-wide Sustainable Lighting Strategy, revising all Municipal lighting standards through cross-working with other government stakeholders and establishing award-winning new lighting design best practices.

Valentine is an internationally renowned figure in lighting and in 2016 was both made a Fellow of the Society of Light and Lighting and presented with LuxLive Middle East’s ‘Person of the Year’: “I am very excited about the new role. I have respected Ligman and their products for many years and they quickly gained my admiration for their vision and quality. Working with Craig is a wonderful plus; as we have known each other for over 10-years.”

Ligman Lighting was founded in 1995 with the objective of designing, manufacturing and distributing world class, high efficiency, top quality outdoor and indoor lighting products. For over 21 years, every Ligman product has employed cutting-edge technology born of a rigorous R&D process, using state of the art design and manufacturing software, leading CNC machinery and tooling, only the highest quality components available and accredited laboratory testing. Ligman fixtures are used in over 60 countries around the world and in some of the most challenging environments on the planet.

Manawongsakul; Ligman President & CEO, states: “Both Martin and Craig are highly respected figures with proven track records and I warmly welcome them to Ligman Lighting. This is great news for Ligman and for our existing and future customers.”