2025 REP OF THE YEAR: SESCO LIGHTING
John Palk's Journey from Knoxville Startup to Multi-Regional Powerhouse By RANDY REID
Every year, we select a manufacturer's representative agency that exemplifies excellence in our industry—not just in sales numbers, but in culture, innovation, and the kind of steady, principled growth that builds lasting legacies. For 2025, that honor goes to SESCO Lighting, the Maitland, Florida-based juggernaut that's transformed from a regional player into a U.S. force with 33 offices and over 600 employees. At the helm is John Palk, President and CEO, whose story is as much about spotting potential in people as it is about spotting market opportunities. I recently caught up with John—from his car, no less, after a breakfast with old contractor friends in Knoxville—and his reflections paint a picture of an agency that's employee-owned in every sense of the word. SESCO's roots run deep in the Southeast, but its evolution under John's watch has been nothing short of remarkable. Founded in 1967, the company established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1995, a move that set the tone for its people-first philosophy.
A Turning Point in Knoxville By the time John joined in 2007, SESCO had offices in Florida and Georgia, but expansion was on the horizon. "I was born and raised in Tennessee," John recalled, "and I got the chance to open our Knoxville 18
designing lighting
office in October, which joined the recent addition of Chattanooga in March 2007." John's ascent at SESCO highlights the power of mentorship and opportunity in the industry. "I was still relatively young in the business," John admitted, "but Marshall Graham, who was CEO at the time, I believe saw something in me." Marshall asked John to help lead the ESOP Committee, and that role immersed him in the intricacies of employee ownership. "It was a turning point," he reflected. "Helping lead that committee gave me an understanding how our structure aligns everyone's interests— when the company wins, we all win." In 2017, opportunity knocked again: promotion to VP of Sales and Marketing, requiring a family uproot to Central Florida. Under his guidance, SESCO ramped up internal processes, emphasizing training and cross-regional collaboration.
Navigating the Pandemic Years Being one of just a few people in the office in 2020 and officially stepping into CEO at the beginning of 2021 John recalled it as a "baptism by fire." With lockdowns ongoing, survival mode kicked in. Fiscally conservative like Marshall, John viewed the crisis as a reset. "All agencies had the opportunity to say, ‘If we were starting over ... what would we do differently? What does the future look like?’ This mindset accelerated long-term planning during this time, turning uncertainty into a catalyst for
SESCO's explosive growth. When John became CEO, SESCO had around 250 employees and 13 offices. Today? Over 600 team members across 33 locations, spanning Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, and beyond. This explosion owes much to strategic acquisitions, a hallmark of John's tenure.
Acquisitions Reshape the Map In May, SESCO snapped up ERT Lighting, expanding into Central and South Texas markets like San Antonio and Austin. In July 2025, SESCO closed on its acquisition of NexGen Lighting Solutions in Dallas. The acquisition bolstered its North Texas presence and added expertise in controls and smart lighting. It also marked a milestone as the first ESOP-to-ESOP deal for the company. "It was special from that sense," John reflected, given both firms' employee-owned structures.
The Unanimous Vote What made it unique—and nerve-wracking— was the requirement for a unanimous vote from NexGen's 35 employees. "If we had one person who said, 'This doesn't work for us,' we would not have had a deal," he explained. The process unfolded dramatically, with