8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

_____________________________________________

FORM 8-K

_____________________________________________

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 1, 2021 (March 1, 2021)

Commission file number 001-16583.

_____________________________________________

ACUITY BRANDS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

_____________________________________________

Delaware	58-2632672
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

1170 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309-7676

(Address of principal executive offices)

(404) 853-1400

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

None

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading symbol	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, $0.01 par value per share	AYI	New York Stock Exchange

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐    Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐    Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On March 1, 2021, Acuity Brands, Inc. (the “Company”) announced certain management changes.

The Company announced that effective March 1, 2021, Richard K. Reece will assume the role of Vice Chairman of Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company ("ABL"), and will no longer serve as President of ABL. Mr. Reece will continue as Executive Vice President of the Company. In these roles, he will be involved in corporate and business development activities and assist in strengthening agency engagement across the Company’s independent sales network.

The Company also announced that Trevor S. Palmer will succeed Mr. Reece as President of the Company's lighting and lighting controls business. A copy of the Company’s News Release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference here.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d)		Exhibits
	99.1	Press Release dated March 1, 2021.
	104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the inline XBRL document).

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 1, 2021

ACUITY BRANDS, INC.
By:	/s/ Karen J. Holcom
	Karen J. Holcom Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

EXHIBIT INDEX
99.1	Press Release dated March 1, 2021	(Filed with the Commission as part of this Form 8-K).
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the inline XBRL document).	(Filed with the Commission as part of this Form 8-K).

EX-99.1

Press Release

Exhibit 99.1

Acuity Brands Announces New President of Acuity Lighting and

Lighting Controls Business

Lighting Controls and Technology Veteran, Trevor Palmer, to Drive Innovation and Growth

ATLANTA – March 1, 2021 --Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI; “Company”) today announced Trevor S. Palmer was appointed President of the Company’s lighting and lighting controls business (ABL). Effective March 1, 2021, Trevor assumes responsibility for driving innovation across the Company’s lighting and lighting controls products, growing market share, and executing the digital transformation of the business. Trevor has over 27 years of experience in the building technology industry and recently served as Senior Vice President of Acuity Brands’ Digital Lighting Networks business.

“Trevor has successfully led and grown our lighting controls business, a key driver for our future,” said Neil M. Ashe, Chairman, President, and CEO of Acuity Brands. “Trevor is a proven leader with an outstanding reputation for driving performance and for cultivating strong relationships within our Independent Sales Network. I’m excited to have him in this expanded role as he executes on our vision to transform and grow our business.”

Richard K. Reece will take on the combined role of Executive Vice President of the Company and Vice Chairman of ABL. In this role, he will continue to partner with Neil on corporate and business development activities and he will work with Trevor to deepen Acuity Brands agency engagement across our Independent Sales Network and to ensure a smooth transition of our ABL business.

About Acuity Brands

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. The Company designs, manufactures, and brings to market products and services that make the world more brilliant, productive, and connected including building management systems, lighting, lighting controls, and location-aware applications. Acuity Brands achieves growth through the development of innovative new products and services.

Through the Acuity Business System, Acuity Brands achieves customer-focused efficiencies that allow the Company to increase market share and deliver superior returns. The Company looks to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals.

Acuity Brands is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company is powered by approximately 11,000 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com.

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Forward-Looking Information

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control. We caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. In addition, forward-looking statements are statements other than those of historical fact and may include statements relating to goals, plans, market conditions and projections regarding Acuity Brand’s strategy, and specifically include statements made in this press release regarding: Growing market share, execution of digital strategy, driving performance, transforming and growing our business, deepening agency engagement and leadership transition. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “plan,” “seek,” “comfortable with,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe” or “continue” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. A number of important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from those contained in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020, filed on October 23, 2020 and those described from time to time in our other filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which can be found at the SEC’s website www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of events, or otherwise.

# # #

Media Contact:

Candace Flippin Steele

candace@acuitybrands.com

Investor Contact:

Charlotte McLaughlin

investorrelations@acuitybrands.com

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XML

Cover Page	Mar. 01, 2021
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Mar. 01, 2021
Entity File Number	001-16583
Entity Registrant Name	ACUITY BRANDS, INC.
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	58-2632672
Entity Address, Address Line One	1170 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Entity Address, Address Line Two	Suite 2300
Entity Address, City or Town	Atlanta
Entity Address, State or Province	GA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	30309
City Area Code	404
Local Phone Number	853-1400
Title of 12(b) Security	Common stock, $0.01 par value per share
Trading Symbol	AYI
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001144215
Amendment Flag	false