HLB Lighting Design is delighted to announce that Barbara Horton, CLD, FIALD, is the latest recipient of the International Association of Lighting Design (IALD) Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is given to individuals who are pioneers in the industry and have gone above and beyond to give back to the lighting design community throughout their careers. Barbara is among a select group of professionals to receive this esteemed distinction, as her award marks only the eighth lighting design professional to receive the award in IALD history, joining founding HLB Principals Stephen Lees as the seventh in 2019 and Jules Horton as the third in 2000. Barbara also received two additional Lifetime Achievement Awards this year from the Edison Report and Women in Lighting (WIL) in the United Kingdom.
For the past 40 years, Barbara has served as a leader and mentor to HLB staff and the greater industry. During her tenure, HLB grew to 15 Principals/Owners, with over 90 team members located in seven offices across North America, serving clients worldwide. She has guided the firm through a successful ownership transition, its first acquisition, and created a culture of design excellence with a focus on the business of design. She has been working side-by-side with firm leadership and now-CEO Carrie Hawley for the past year-and-a-half in preparation for her recent retirement and the continued legacy of HLB.
In honor of both Barbara and Stephen and their contributions to the industry, a business excellence leadership fund in their name is currently being developed to promote the continued success of the profession. Lighting design leaders are gearing up for a formal announcement and launch of the fund in early 2022. The mission of the fund is to empower individuals with business education to grow and sustain successful lighting design practices globally.
“Volunteering with the IALD gave me fundamental leadership skills and a community to share global perspectives and make an impact on the lighting design profession,” says Barbara.
