Muk Musleh

Co-Founder, CTO

Profile
Mukhtar (Muk) Radwan Musleh is the Chief Technology Officer of StarcoGro Inc., a Buffalo, N.Y.-based market-leading innovator in sophisticated LED Agriculture Lighting systems. The company is making great advances in the use of LED lights for horticulture, particularly for indoor leafy greens and marijuana growers.  Muk’s unique skill set has the ability to enable indoor farmers to future-proof their lighting and controls infrastructure, enabling them to continually optimize their operations, increase revenue, and save millions of dollars; not only in the cost of power consumption, but also in the optimization of their yield.

Since June 2023, Musleh has been leading StarcoGro as its CEO, having branched from Starco Lighting Inc to establish a dedicated team for success in the agricultural technology market. Additionally, he currently serves as the CEO of Starco Lighting Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial and industrial LED lighting. Starco Lighting Inc. was acquired from its parent company, Zhejiang Starco Lighting Inc., located in Donyang, Zhejiang, China. Under Buffalo, NY ownership since early 2022, the company has expanded its product line through technological integration and innovation. Muk is responsible for overseeing daily operations, driving optimization, and fostering growth within the company. Starco Lighting handles sales, distribution, marketing, product design, and some assembly. In 2023, Musleh aims to rapidly expand the company's research and development group to offer a wide range of products sought after by Fortune 1000 companies. Before the pandemic, Starco Lighting maintained inventory worth 2-3 million dollars at its Buffalo location, a target Mr. Musleh intends to achieve once again to ensure timely delivery for customers.

Muk works closely with Eric Xu, the CEO of Zhejiang Starco Lighting, based in Dongyang, Zhejiang, China, where the majority of Starco's manufacturing takes place. Zhejiang Starco Lighting is part of the Starco Group, which includes Starco Supercapacitors and Starco Plastics. Distinguishing itself from other lighting companies, Zhejiang Starco Lighting owns its factory, equipment, and other resources. The company designs and manufactures its own electronics while leveraging the competencies of its sister companies, providing it with a competitive advantage in its league.

Before joining Starco Lighting, Musleh served as the Energy Technology Supervisor for Ford Motor Company's global facilities for a few years. From June 2013 to September 2016, he oversaw lighting upgrades for over 25 manufacturing plants, managing over 50 million dollars' worth of energy-saving performance contracts and implementing an additional 30 million dollars' worth of capital budgeted lighting projects for Ford's new program. In 2013, he spearheaded the transition to exclusive LED lighting in Ford Motor's Global Lighting Specification, making the company one of the earliest corporate adopters of LED technology. Muk's direct collaboration with manufacturers and streamlining of Ford's lighting procurement process facilitated swift adoption of the technology. He also managed a team of Subject Matter Experts for Lighting, Controls, and Metering, bridging the gap between the lighting market and Ford's building management platform.

Prior to his tenure at Ford Motor Co., Musleh worked as a Project Engineer at S3J Electronics for four years. Additionally, since 2013, he has been the owner of RET Consulting Group, a turn-key lighting contractor. Currently, Muk plans to obtain his P.E. license and expand RET's services to include engineering offerings.

Muk holds a B.S. degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, earned in 2009. He is a member of the (IES) Illuminating Engineering Society and IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).