After a 40-year career in the residential lighting industry, Paul Berk has made the decision to retire effective January 1, 2025.
“After 21 years as VP/Sales at Adesso, 2025 is the beginning of an exciting new stage of my life — retirement,” Berk says, adding, “I will always miss the great times and am grateful for all the friendships made.”
Berk’s career began in the 1980s as National Sales Manager for Basic Concept. “It was there that I learned about portables and became a lamp specialist,” he recalls. “Basic Concept was a contemporary line, all in black and white and featuring halogens. I established many great relationships during my BC days and have maintained my contacts from 40 years ago.”
His next move was to Kichler, as National Sales Manager/Product Manager for the Minoff Lamp division. “I was responsible for product development, sales management, and my key responsibility was to put Minoff lamp on the map. We launched Minoff lamp with 50 lamps, all matching in style with popular Kichler fixture collections,” he notes.
“I was then thrilled to accept the position of VP Sales for Waterford Crystal Lighting. At Waterford, I had the opportunity to transform a gift-oriented lamp line to a full lamp company. I worked with lighting designers to update the line, hired a sales force, obtained showrooms in High Point and Dallas and let the business fly! We were able to turn a $3.0M business to a $15M industry staple within 3 years,” Berk comments.
Finally, he made the move to Adesso, where he served as VP/Sales and continued to build strong relationships with the company’s sales force and customers.
“I am so proud to have been a part of the company’s great growth. The hard work paid off and Adesso today is a leading lighting company with a strong following within our industry. Thank you, Peggy and Lee, for all your support,” he remarks. “I also extend my thanks and appreciation to all of my customers, associates, and friends for helping both me and Adesso grow to great heights over the years. Our achievements were commendable and recognized in the industry.”
The most important lessons learned during his lighting career were to “always believe in yourself and your company, always follow through, cherish longtime relationships, and show both honor and respect to customers,” Berk says. “The basis of my success is because of our customers, who I am proud to call friends. The lighting industry has treated me well and I’m grateful to have been a part of it. We are all connected in a great industry.”
