July 31, 2025

Peachtree Lighting Names Kyle Leighton as President to Lead Strategic Growth

Greater Atlanta Area — Peachtree Lighting, a leading U.S. manufacturer of commercial and architectural luminaires for more than 40 years, is proud to announce the appointment of Kyle Leighton as its new President. His leadership is expected to usher in a new era of engineering innovation, operational discipline, and market expansion for the Georgia-based company.

Kyle Leighton

Leighton joins Peachtree with nearly two decades of experience in lighting, controls, and connected building systems. His résumé includes senior roles at Everlast Lighting, MHT Lighting, Siemens Enlighted, and Crestron Electronics, where he led national sales teams and drove growth of smart lighting and control solutions. In 2013, he was recognized by the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) as a “30 Under 35” award recipient, highlighting his early influence on the future of the lighting industry.

He has also been honored for academic and professional excellence, including receiving the Recent Graduate Award from Siena Heights University in 2014, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and the Captain Zenneth A. Pond Award from Jackson College in 2021—a distinction recognizing outstanding leadership, vision, and service. He later served as Energy Chair and taught courses at Jackson College, mentoring students on sustainability, strategy, and innovation in the built environment.

Leighton is an accomplished engineering researcher, with several published studies on lighting, energy performance, and systems optimization—many of which are publicly available through ResearchGate. Several of his works have been cited by institutions such as the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis and the National Academies, underscoring his technical rigor and contribution to evidence-based lighting design.

In 2015, Leighton relocated to New York City, where he joined NAME Energy Group, the parent company of MHT Lighting, Inc., as Director of Marketing at its corporate headquarters. While there, he helped introduce cutting‑edge energy management and PoE lighting products, leveraging his technical expertise to drive brand growth in highly competitive domestic and international markets. A few years later, Leighton returned to Michigan, where he continued to build upon his work in lighting technology and energy strategy.

Leighton further sharpened his focus on lighting controls when he joined Crestron Electronics in 2022, benefitting from the guidance of industry leaders Bill Schafer and Ian Austin. At Crestron, he played a key role in growing the company’s lighting controls business throughout the Midwest—strengthening relationships with specifiers, contractors, and distributors, and helping introduce energy code-compliant control systems.

“Working alongside Bill Schafer and Ian Austin at Crestron was a great experience for me. Their leadership and deep industry knowledge taught me invaluable lessons about the technical side of lighting controls—from system design to engineering best practices. I truly enjoyed being part of a group that pushed the boundaries of lighting control technology and set the pace for innovation in the industry.”

With his new appointment at Peachtree Lighting, Leighton is already implementing a strategic transformation—focusing on engineering-first product development, tighter vendor relationships, new agent partnerships, and improved profitability metrics. He has begun hiring new lighting representatives across key markets and is exploring local sourcing opportunities throughout Georgia, with the goal of revitalizing domestic supply chains and supporting economic development.

“Peachtree Lighting has a respected legacy as a U.S. manufacturer, and we’re going to elevate that with a smarter, faster, more responsive approach to engineering and market delivery,” said Leighton. “I’m focused on aligning every part of the business—from product design to channel strategy—around value creation and innovation.”

As a resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Leighton is balancing his national leadership role with a commitment to cultivating local talent and expanding Peachtree’s footprint in the Greater Atlanta Area and beyond. His broad experience across technical sales, research, manufacturing, and education uniquely positions him to lead Peachtree Lighting into a new era of relevance in a highly competitive market.

Beyond the lighting world, Leighton maintains a strong presence in real estate. In July 2025, MLive reported that Leighton owned more than 100 rental units in Michigan and invested more than $1.4 million through the first half of 2025.

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