Leadership

Suzanne Yoon is the Executive Chairwoman of Chelsea Lighting, taking a more active role since acquiring the company in August 2020.

Suzanne is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in lower middle market companies in business services and manufacturing. In 2017, she launched Kinzie as part of her long-standing vision to advance the use of technology, data analytics and innovation to help unlock value for companies. Since adding Chelsea to Kinzie’s portfolio of companies, Suzanne has developed a deep knowledge of lighting and understanding of the lighting industry to align with her passion of building companies using process and technology. Suzanne will now implement her recipe for success with the talented Chelsea team of intellectually agile employees to further drive client success.

In addition to Chelsea Lighting, Suzanne has led success at Kinzie’s other portfolio companies. Suzanne has over 25 years’ experience managing, investing in, and advising middle market companies. Prior to Kinzie, she held leadership roles at Versa Capital Management, CIT Group, ABNAMRO, and Ernst & Young. Additionally, a respected leader in both business and civic spheres, Suzanne serves on several boards for both private companies and philanthropic organizations.

Suzanne earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Iowa and is an Executive Scholar of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Suzanne is married to her husband Luke Molloy, and they have three sons. She is an avid outdoor and sports enthusiast who enjoys golfing, and fishing with her family.

Sean Lafferty joined Chelsea Lighting in June 2024 as our Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Sean has built a track record of success delivering profitable and sustainable growth by driving team performance, client satisfaction, and executing innovative sales strategies. Most recently, Sean was President and CEO of Steinel America, the US sales subsidiary for a German manufacturer of highly engineered, precision sensors and lighting controls. Sean first entered the lighting industry in 2011 by launching LG’s LED Lighting business with the industry’s first 140lpw fixture with integrated sensors and wireless controls. Sean’s early career with IBM and Ernst & Young
Sean served as Board Chair at Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow whose mission was to help disadvantaged youth and adults recognize their own self-worth and advance towards self-sufficiency. Sean currently sits on the advisory board of Marquette University’s S-Lab, focused on environmentally sustainable business development. Sean also volunteers as a basketball coach for the Eastside Escalades, a High School AAU basketball team in NYC.
Sean received his BS in Computer Science from Marquette University and an MBA from the Columbia Graduate School of Business. Sean resides with his wife and the youngest of his three sons in New York City. Sean likes to spend his leisure time in the Adirondacks, rooting for the Knicks, and rooting on his sons on the Rugby pitch.

Bob Bazan joined Chelsea Lighting in 2016 and serves as Chief Operating Officer, where he oversees service delivery and drives significant improvement in processes, technology, policies, and people development throughout Chelsea's operational teams and services. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Operations at the firm.

Bob has worked in lighting manufacturing since 2007, including at Cooper Lighting, WAC Lighting, and Apogee Translite, with responsibilities of engineering, product development, sales, and marketing. Prior to that, he worked in printed circuit board manufacturing at Photocircuits Corporation, serving as Vice President of Customer Support and on the restructuring committee for the company’s Chapter 11 reorganization operations.

Bob is a retired Navy Captain with 30 years of military service and has made many deployments throughout the world, including combat operations in Afghanistan, the Korean Theater of Operations, and Emergency Management Operations with FEMA and New York State. Bob holds a BS in Engineering from the US Naval Academy, an MBA from the University of Rhode Island, and Joint Professional Military Certification from the Air Command and Staff College. He actively serves as Commander of American Legion Post 336, Charter Organization Sponsor for Boy Scout Troop 195, and as a US Naval Academy Blue and Gold Officer. Bob is an avid runner and completed the New York City marathon in 2013. He is married to his wife, Theresa, and they have three children

Eric Sackman joined Chelsea Lighting in 2014 and is Senior Vice President of NYC Sales. Eric has held leadership positions in Project Management, Estimating, and Operations Management at Chelsea. He was instrumental in the successful implementation of several operational improvements and business efficiencies and has taken an active role in the development of people at Chelsea.

Eric provides a unique perspective to the pre-construction side of the business after living an operations role for the majority of his tenure at Chelsea. Eric has overseen some of Chelsea’s most high-profile jobs and has developed a solid business reputation with some of New York City’s largest general contractors, owners, and owner representative groups. He is a hands-on leader and can frequently be found at client job sites or participating in client meetings.

Eric received both his BS in International Business and MBA degrees from Quinnipiac University. He currently resides in Manhattan and in his spare time enjoys cooking, skiing, playing golf, and spending time with his niece and three nephews on the Jersey Shore

Catherine Lomanto joined Chelsea Lighting in 2017 and is our Vice President of Project Management. At Chelsea, Catherine has held positions of increasing responsibility in Submittals, Controls, Power over Ethernet (PoE), and Lighting Project Management. Catherine was instrumental in leading and developing Chelsea’s Power over Ethernet initiative, achieving success with projects in New York City as well as nationally. Catherine has overseen some of Chelsea’s most high-profile projects utilizing industry leading technology. Her attention to detail drives her commitment to world-class customer service.

As the Vice President of Project Management, Catherine oversees our Lighting, Lighting Controls and PoE Project Management Teams. She has taken an active role in the development of people at Chelsea.

Prior to joining Chelsea, Catherine gained valuable experience working at Lutron Electronics as a Senior Integrated Systems Specialist. Catherine graduated from Lafayette College, where she majored in Engineering Studies. and minored in Architectural Studies. Catherine lives in Hoboken, NJ and enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Mark Safran joined Chelsea Lighting in 2017 and is Vice President of Operations and Technology. In this role, Mark leads the Logistics team, the Field Service team, and is responsible for managing Chelsea’s software systems, data analytics, and reporting.

Mark has been the driving force behind process improvement and technical innovation at Chelsea. He pioneered the custom development of our in-house submittals software, led an ERP System migration with zero business days downtime, and built a robust Smartsheet tenant that is used by our Pre-Construction, Project Management, and Finance teams daily.

Prior to joining Chelsea, Mark worked at Crestron Electronics where he held positions as a Systems Programmer and Regional Sales Manager. Mark graduated cum laude with a BA in Computer Science from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He is also an active NJ-licensed EMT and currently serves as First Lieutenant for the Closter Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Corps. Mark resides in Hoboken, NJ.