LEDs & SSL Design

LEDs Magazine 40 Under 40 Profile: Jelmer Sanders

July 24, 2020

Signify LED modules product manager Jelmer Sanders has traveled round the globe gaining product development and procurement expertise.

Carrie Meadows,

Maury Wright

JELMER SANDERS. (Photo credit: Image courtesy of Signify.)

Jelmer Sanders got his career off to a fast start while finishing his undergraduate degree in commerce at Arnhem Business School in the Netherlands in 2009. He landed an internship at what was then Philips Lighting and moved to Shanghai for five months, assigned to developing a benchmark study on the use of solid-state lighting (SSL) luminaires in the Asia-Pacific region. He wrote a graduation thesis on that work, which led to a refresh of Philips’ product strategy in the region.

Sanders returned to the Netherlands working as a product marketer after graduation, gaining insights into the value chain and participating in the launch of many of Philips’ foundational LED-based luminaires early in the SSL revolution. During that time, he also earned an MBA at TiasNimbas Business School.

Sanders would ultimately return to Asia for four years, having gained experience in luminaire development, and took over a role in specification and procurement of packaged LEDs focusing on mid-power and chip-on-board components. That experience prepared Sanders for his current role leading development of LED modules or light engines for Signify’s OEM channel.

Some of his most recent work has been focused on Fortimo linear strips that feature what Signify calls CES (cyan enhanced static). These products are intended for daytime use and alertness while maximizing what some in the industry call MDER (melanopic daylight efficacy ratio) — or maximizing efficacy simultaneously with energy in the blue region boosted. Sanders frequently speaks at events about the module technology and the CES approach.

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About the Author

Carrie Meadows | Editor-in-Chief, LEDs Magazine

Carrie Meadows has more than 20 years of experience in the publishing and media industry. She worked with the PennWell Technology Group for more than 17 years, having been part of the editorial staff at Solid State Technology, Microlithography World, Lightwave, Portable Design, CleanRooms, Laser Focus World, and Vision Systems Design before the group was acquired by current parent company Endeavor Business Media.

Meadows has received finalist recognition for LEDs Magazine in the FOLIO Eddie Awards, and has volunteered as a judge on several B2B editorial awards committees. She received a BA in English literature from Saint Anselm College, and earned thesis honors in the college's Geisel Library. Without the patience to sit down and write a book of her own, she has gladly undertaken the role of editor for the writings of friends and family.

Meadows enjoys living in the beautiful but sometimes unpredictable four seasons of the New England region, volunteering with an animal shelter, reading (of course), and walking with friends and extended "dog family" in her spare time.

About the Author

Maury Wright | Editor in Chief

Maury Wright is an electronics engineer turned technology journalist, who has focused specifically on the LED & Lighting industry for the past decade. Wright first wrote for LEDs Magazine as a contractor in 2010, and took over as Editor-in-Chief in 2012. He has broad experience in technology areas ranging from microprocessors to digital media to wireless networks that he gained over 30 years in the trade press. Wright has experience running global editorial operations, such as during his tenure as worldwide editorial director of EDN Magazine, and has been instrumental in launching publication websites going back to the earliest days of the Internet. Wright has won numerous industry awards, including multiple ASBPE national awards for B2B journalism excellence, and has received finalist recognition for LEDs Magazine in the FOLIO Eddie Awards. He received a BS in electrical engineering from Auburn University.