Leela Shanker
Leela Shanker leads the Design Lab with WAP Sustainability. Synthesising architectural design, sustainability analytical frameworks and speculative material investigations, the Lab implements strategies that progress decarbonisation, circularity and material health in the built environment.
Based in New York, with collaborators globally, Shanker and WAP's team develop pilot initiatives between leading stakeholders from design, manufacturing and real estate. Through the GreenLight Alliance - an international network of lighting professionals progressing industry-led standards, research and advocacy - she founded the Lighting Industry Life Cycle Assessment Incubator while practicing as a lighting designer with consulting engineering firm BR+A. She holds a M.Arch (Hons) and MFA - Lighting Design from Parsons School of Design and Bachelors of Law and Commerce from Sydney University.
Shanker continues to advise the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (U.S. Department of Energy) as technical expert to their Life Cycle Assessment and light research team and is a Steering Committee member of the American Institute of Architects’ Decarbonization Subcommittee and Carbon Leadership Forum NY chapters. As Founder of non-profit, Flint Collective NYC Inc, her work has been awarded by the IES with a Special Citation for Lighting as a Tool for Social Impact. She is a current member of the Social Architecture track of the New Museum’s NEW INC incubator.
Jean-Luc Lambert
Jean-Luc Lambert has been a member of Schréder and the lighting industry for over 35 years. Having gained a wealth of experience and knowledge from multiple roles, Jean-Luc is currently the Business Segment Manager for Urban Deco at Schréder’s head office in Belgium.
Mo Islam
With 21 years in the lighting industry, Mo began as a product development engineer before transitioning into sales. Now Head of Sales at XAL, where he’s spent 13 years and specialises in collaborating with consultants to deliver complex solutions, leveraging his engineering background. His main clients are lighting designers, though he also works closely with architects and end users. Prior to lighting, Mo gained experience in facilities management, production and manufacturing processes.
Karen Cawley
Almost 20 years in the lighting industry - including 17 at Osram and over two at XAL- Karen brings deep expertise from across traditional and LED technologies. Karen’s career has taken her to iconic locations like Buckingham Palace, cruise ships, Gatwick Airport, and McLaren HQ. Now focused on the UK specification market, she thrives on collaborating with customers from concept to installation, especially when delivering sustainable solutions -a passion close to her heart.
Linus Fuchs
With a passion for advancing good lighting, Linus Fuchs serves as Business Development Manager at LEDiL, where he is dedicated to solving industry challenges and pushing the boundaries of innovation. He sees lighting as more than technology - it is a driver of aesthetics, sustainability, and real-world value.
Drawing on years of international sales experience across EMEA, Southeast Asia, the US, and Oceania, he brings a global perspective to building strong customer partnerships and shaping future product strategies within the ecosystem of light. With a Master’s in Digital Business and Management, he combines commercial expertise with forward-looking insights, helping customers navigate evolving needs while contributing to a better lighting industry worldwide.
Xavier Denis
Xavier Denis is Head of Technical Support and Technical Marketing at Nichia Europe, bringing over 20 years of experience in lighting and optics. He has held management positions at Nichia, GE Lighting, and Optis, among others. Xavier earned a BSc in Applied Physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an Executive MBA from Corvinus University of Budapest. He contributes valuable insights on emerging light source technologies, from human-centric solutions to microLEDs.
Andy Rogers
Andy Rodgers leads as the Mechanical & Electrical Manager at the City of London Corporation. His extensive experience spans designing, installing, and maintaining diverse lighting projects, with a profound impact on urban aesthetics. Planning and overseeing works carried out on site, managing operatives/sub-contractors and materials/plant/transport, ensuring quality, safety, profitability and client satisfaction.
www.linkedin.com/city-of-london
Alexandra Hoste
Alex has spent over 30 years working in design, print and photography, and since 2018 she’s been bringing that experience to RNIB, where she leads the design, content, film and stories teams.
Her focus is on creating high-quality, accessible design solutions that make a real difference. From overseeing design accessibility standards across RNIB’s campaigns, to playing a pivotal role in the branding of the organisation’s award-winning Grimaldi Building in London, Alex is helping to shape how accessibility looks and feels at every level. She’s also worked to develop the design and branding of accessible packaging for RNIB’s Products and Advice Centre, making sure good design works for everyone.
Her client portfolio spans both global and UK organisations, including the Special Olympics Team of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to NHS trusts, L’Oréal, Burberry, and the Parliamentary Digital Service.
Alex’s guiding belief is that “accessible design is creative design” —because true accessibility means equity, independence, privacy and opportunity for everyone.
Sanjit Bahra
Sanjit’s passion for lighting was inspired by his background and early education in medicine. First studying medicine at The Royal Free Hospital & UCL, he then went on to achieve a BSc in Psychology before completing an MSc in Ergonomics, with his final thesis focusing on workplace lighting. It was during this time he became passionate about the relationship between human, emotional and physiological response to the lit environment, exploring how lighting affects health and wellness.
He started his journey as a lighting designer through his almost decade-long experience at Lighting Design International, working his way up to an Associate level through his determination and creative flair. Taking the valuable skills he had gained, combined with his unique perspective and approach to creating lighting schemes, Sanjit launched his own lighting design consultancy, DesignPlusLight. Since 2008, DesignPlusLight has produced bespoke lighting designs for a variety of high-profile projects, using creative expertise and technical knowledge to bring a touch of theatre to the built environment.
Sanjit demonstrates to clients how the power of lighting design can transform how people feel and interact with spaces through the placement of light and shadow. It is not just throughout his work that Sanjit showcases his passion for lighting, but by acting as a key speaker at various events and exhibitions. Speaking at various darc talks, including in Mykonos and Dubai, at the Surface Design Show, and lectures for the University of Bristol Botanic Garden and the Chelsea Design Centre, he communicates the importance of lighting on circadian rhythms, wellbeing and performance.
