Midlothian lighting company promotes exec to CFO

Midlothian-based lighting and home decor company Shades of Light promoted Sean Acton to chief financial officer on Thursday.

Acton was the company’s controller for about two years, and he will continue to oversee the accounting team until the company hires an accounting manager. Acton will take on oversight of the purchasing, inventory and production teams.

“Shades of Light has been around for a number of years,” Acton said, “and being part of something that’s continuing to grow year after year is exciting.”

The former CFO, Denise Burr, will continue to serve as chief operating officer for Shades of Light. She was serving as both CFO and COO, but the company is splitting the role because of its growth in headcount and complexity.

Before he joined Shades of Light, Acton was controller for Zamma Corp., and before that, he served as vice president of finance for Cerro Fabricated Products. Acton previously was the senior controller for Devils Backbone Brewing Co. Prior to that, he served as vice president of operations for Woolrich Inc., where he was also in charge of inventory and purchasing.

“Expanding into some of the other areas I’ve been responsible for outside of just finance is also exciting,” Acton said.

Acton holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Founded in Richmond in 1986, Shades of Light is now headquartered in Midlothian and has a customer service call center, a warehouse and an outlet there, as well as a retail store in Richmond. The company has more than 200 employees and ships to every state.