Ellis Yan, CEO
Ellis Yan’s journey to becoming a successful innovator, founder, president and CEO of the world’s leading energy efficient lighting manufacturer has been filled with obstacles that have challenged his determination and fortitude, but also fueled his entrepreneurial spirit.
At 20 years old, he came to America from China to study at Cleveland State University, where he earned a degree in Accounting. His foray into lighting began in 1986, when he bought used equipment, exported it to China and began manufacturing halogen lighting products. In 1993, Technical Consumer Products, Inc. (TCP) was founded.
As the business grew, Ellis turned his focus to energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). While the major lighting manufacturers decided to abandon energy efficient lighting technology, Ellis persevered, believing that TCP could create a better light source to rival the incandescent light bulb. In 1996, TCP was the first company to introduce the “SpringLamp Inside”, rather than a straight tube in a CFL, revolutionizing the residential lighting industry for the first time since Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb.
Although only a fraction of the size of its competitors, under Ellis’ leadership, now controls 70 percent of the U.S. CFL market through a variety of name brand, private label and other lighting manufacturers. The company has more than doubled its sales since 2001, reaching $154 million in 2006 while doubling employees at its corporate headquarters to more than 200 people in just one year. In addition, Ellis is credited with tripling the company’s manufacturing capacity within the same year, producing more than 900,000 CFLs every day.
Education is a passion for Ellis that extends into the company’s business philosophy. He has been instrumental in establishing consumer and school education programs to share the energy efficient and environmental benefits of using compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). He is also dedicated to health and wellness and has developed incentive programs encouraging employees to make decisions that are good for their health and the environment.
Ellis has built relationships with a variety of industry partners and associations including energy star, the American National Standards Institute, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the American Lighting Association, among others. His commitments extend beyond the lighting industry, including several local and national organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the National Make-A-Difference Day Campaign, The City Mission, NASA Lewis Research Center, the Inventors Hall of Fame, the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank, and the National Arbor Foundation.
Ellis has received numerous awards for his business leadership and contributions to energy efficient lighting. He was named to the Forbes 2008 list of Notable Chinese Americans, the 2002 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Science and Technology, a 2008 Cleveland State University Distinguished Alumni, a Master Innovator from Smart Business magazine, and received Cascade Capital Business Growth awards six of the last seven years.
Beyond the lighting industry, Mr. Yan is involved in many local and national organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the National Make-A-Difference Day Campaign, The City Mission, NASA Lewis Research Center, the Inventors Hall of Fame, the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank and the National Arbor Foundation.