LED lighting company Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) has named a life sciences executive to its board of directors.
Anne Whitaker, president, North American pharmaceuticals for Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) joined the board of Durham-based Cree board effective Monday. Whitaker has worked at Sanofi since 2011. She had previously worked at Upjohn Company and GlaxoSmithKline.
“Anne has proven herself to be a leader throughout her career and her extensive experience in strategic management and organizational development will be a tremendous asset to our company as we continue to carry out our mission to accelerate the adoption of LED lighting,” Cree CEO Chuck Swoboda said in a statement.
In other Cree news:
Cree is expanding its LED lighting portfolio with a new 75-watt replacement bulb. The new bulb looks like a traditional incandescent bulb but Cree says it uses 82 percent less energy and is designed to last 25 times longer. Cree’s new 75-watt LED bulb retails for $23.97.
The new Cree light bulb follows the Durham company’s introduction earlier this year of a 45-watt LED light bulb that the company has targeted for consumers with a $10 retail price. Cree has been selling that bulb through retail partner Home Depot.
Also, N.C. State officials have selected Cree to provide lighting for Wolf Ridge at Centennial, the university’s first residence hall planned for LEED Silver certification. The LED lighting was chosen to significantly reduce the hall’s energy and maintenance costs and help the building achieve the rigorous standards to meet LEED Silver certification. N.C. State has history of using Cree LED lighting. In 2007, the university was the first to join Cree’s LED University, an international community of universities working to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting across their campuses.
When fully completed, the six-building Wolf Ridge project will use more than 4,000 luminaires from Cree’s LED lighting portfolio.
