Charlene Hu (Chairman & President) is an accomplished business leader with over two decades of experience in the semiconductor and technology sectors. As the Chairman & President of Swiroc, she has been leading the company since 2019, guiding its strategy and business development. Charlene holds an EMBA from National Chiao Tung University (2010–2012) and an MS in Operations Research from Stanford University (1994–1995).

Panagiotis-Alexandros Bokaris (Head of Digital Optics) is the Global Head of Innovation in Diagnostics & Sensors at L’Oréal Research & Innovation. His team develops innovations that range from consumer diagnosis to product recommendation or personalization, including appearance modeling and virtual try-on. Alexandros holds a Diploma in Engineering from the University of Patras (2011) and the Erasmus Mundus Master Degree CIMET (2013). He obtained his PhD in computer science from the University of Paris-Saclay (2016), while being a visiting PhD student at the University College London (2015). His research interests span the space of computer vision, graphics and augmented reality. Since 2023 he is a adjunct professor at the Sorbonne University.

André Richter (General Manager) is an expert with 25+ years of experience in optical communications, photonics, and fiber optics. He received his M.Sc. degree from Georgia Tech, USA, and Ph.D. from TU Berlin, Germany. André co-authored 140+ publications and contributed to 15+ international R&D projects. Being with the VPIphotonics team since 1997, André has generated numerous novelties in industry research and education, commercialization, and market development. He held management positions for technical services, product management, research & development before being appointed General Manager in 2013.

Martin Roth (Scientist) served as Research Assistant at Universitäts-Sternwarte München from 1986 to 1991. He then became an Observer at Wendelstein Observatory in 1991 before joining AIP in 1994, where he worked as Head of Program until 2023. At AIP, he was instrumental in developing integral field spectrographs like PMAS, VIRUS, and MUSE, and contributed to projects such as MOSAIC and BlueMUSE. Since 2009, Martin has been the Chair of innoFSPEC Potsdam. He was a Professor at the Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam from 2011 until April 2023. Since his retirement from teaching, he continues to work full-time in the Astrophotonics department at AIP with responsibility for the development of the Institute for Technology (ITE) at the emerging Deutsches Zentrum für Astrophysik (DZA) in Görlitz.

Edwin Wolterink (VP Innovation & Business Development) began his career at Philips CFT Research after graduating from Eindhoven University of Technology. He gained extensive experience in product and process development, focusing on the implementation of new products and advanced manufacturing technologies across the Hard Disk Drive, Semiconductor, and Optical Storage industries. His passion for optics deepened during his time at Philips Optical Storage, where he managed the development of OPU production line equipment. In 2000, he joined Anteryon (formerly Philips Optics) as an R&D Manager and played a key role in founding WaferOptics technology. As Anteryon’s CTO from 2013 to 2024, Edwin led the company’s technology roadmap for optics-based modules. Today, his focus is on driving innovation and new business development, shaping the future of optical technologies.

Michael Powell (Managing Director and Partner) is the Managing Director and Partner of Renevo Capital Limited. Mike focuses on the TMT, advanced materials sectors. He has advised multiple companies on M&A, financing, and corporate strategy. He is extremely well connected internationally, particularly in Europe, the North Americas and China. Mike's specialty is photonics and efficiency technologies and he bring 30 years of senior level experience in leading, advising, managing and negotiating corporate projects and transactions for both private and public companies. Prior to his experience in technology M&A banking and the founding of Renevo Capital Limited, Mike had an extensive history in operational roles within technology businesses, starting as a defence contractor with GEC Marconi. He then entered a period of serial entrepreneurship by founding, funding, growing and ultimately selling three business: IOC international PLC, K2 Optronics Inc and Pelikon ltd. He managed IOC as CEO from start-up to its subsequent float on the London AIM stock exchange in 1997 and 2000. He subsequently sold it to NASDAQ quoted SDLI before moving to the Bay area to found K2 Optronics which was later sold to Emcore. In 2002, Mike returned to the UK and joined the founding team of Pelikon as CEO. In 2008 he sold Pelikon to NASDAQ listed MFLEX.Mike has a degree in Physics from Imperial College and is a keen athlete, competing regularly in triathlons. He is also a level 2 qualified Triathlon coach.

Maik Müller (CEO) has been a member of the Management Board of Nynomic AG since May 2015 and is responsible for Technology, Operations and Research and Development at the holding company. He was also appointed to the Management Board of tec5 AG from October 2010 to April 2023 and had full responsibility for the operational management of the tec5 Group worldwide.

Ronny Timmreck (CEO) is a deep-tech entrepreneur with a background in physics, specializing in photonics, and a PhD in organic electronics. He has built and scaled multiple technology companies, raising over €12M in funding and securing major industry partnerships. His entrepreneurial journey began with leXsolar, an edtech company that became a market leader before he successfully exited it. He co-founded SENORICS, where he led the development of a breakthrough sensor technology, built a team of 40+, and secured significant venture funding. As CEO of deepXscan, he managed the strategic consolidation of an X-ray imaging startup. Now, as CEO of vitrealab, he is scaling a cutting-edge photonic technology to bring it to market, solving one of Augmented Reality’s biggest challenges. By turning this innovation into a successful product, he is driving the next evolution of AR hardware. He also invests in and mentors deep-tech startups, focusing on fundraising and scaling strategies.

Basil Garabet (President & CEO) is the President and CEO of NKT Photonics which he has successfully grown since 2015. Basil is a serial entrepreneur with a 40-year tenure in Photonics where he has started, led and turned round a number of International Photonics companies. Basil’s career has spanned leading positions in JK Lasers, EM4, Altitun, Melles Griot and Lasertron. Basil is closely involved in promoting Photonics globally, especially research in new applications such as Quantum, and performs numerous honorary duties including Board seats on EPIC, Bifrost Communication, and the Danish Quantum Community. Basil holds an MSc in Lasers and Their Applications. Basil Garabet is President of the EPIC Board of Directors.

Jean-François Morizur (CEO) is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cailabs, a global deeptech company. Before launching the company in 2013, he worked at the Boston Consulting Group as Senior Associate. A graduate of the École normale supérieure in Paris, Jean-François holds two doctoral degrees in quantum optics, from Sorbonne University and the Australian National University. While working on his thesis at the Kastler Brossel Laboratory, he co-invented Multi-Plane Light Conversion (MPLC), a groundbreaking technology that underpins Cailabs' products. As Cailabs’ CEO, he is responsible for driving the company's vision and strategic direction. Under his leadership, Cailabs has emerged as a leading company in its field, pushing the boundaries of what is achievable in the world of optical products with groundbreaking applications in space, defence, energy and other major industries.

Martynas Barkauskas (CEO) is the CEO of Light Conversion, a leading femtosecond laser manufacturer located in Vilnius, Lithuania. Previously, Martynas held different positions within the company working at femtosecond laser development, managing world-wide service actives, and serving as head of sales. He holds a degree in laser physics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and PhD in ultrafast spectroscopy from Vilnius University, Lithuania.

Martin Hermatschweiler (CEO) is co-founder and CEO of Nanoscribe ever since the company was founded in 2007. His main task is driving the company’s growth, particularly through the development of new markets. The scientific expertise of the graduate physicist lies in laser patterning of polymers as well as surface coating techniques based on semiconductor processes. Martin has been listed among the TOP 40 entrepreneurs within Germany younger than 40 by the journal “Capital” (2015).

Gerard van den Eijkel (CEO) is the Founder and CEO of Dutch United Instruments and currently serves as the Technical Director Optomechatronics at DEMCON Group. In this role, he provides technical and business guidance in optomechatronics, focusing on optical systems engineering, business development, and innovation. Previously, he was the Business Unit Manager at Focal Optomechatronic Systems. His work covered imaging systems, laser systems, adaptive optics, and illumination optics for industries including high-tech, semiconductor, and space. Gerard holds a PhD in Pattern Recognition from Delft University of Technology, an MSc in Applied Physics from the University of Twente, and an MBA in General Management from TSM Business School.

Alex Ayalon (Senior Director, R&D and Innovation) has been leading research and development initiatives at Elbit Systems - ISTAR since 2018. With over six years in this role, he focuses on driving innovation and advancing technological capabilities in defense and intelligence systems. Alex holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Weizmann Institute of Science and an M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from Tel Aviv University.

Pablo Romero (Research Strategy Manager) has 25 years’ experience in research in several fields of materials processing and has been involved in the development of laser-based manufacturing R&D activities since the inception of the Laser Applications Centre in AIMEN, 20 years ago. He has been a leading researcher and coordinator for over 20 National and coordinated 7 European projects (since FP7), and has produced numerous patents, publications and research results in use in a variety of industries, from automotive to medical. Since 2010, his research concentrated in laser surface processing and ultrafast laser micromachining. Today, he is Research Strategy Manager for Laser Applications at AIMEN and manages the PULSATE European Network for adoption of Laser Based Manufacturing.

David Cardador Maza (CEO and Co-Founder), Physicist, PhD in Electronics Engineering, Postgraduate in Tech Transfer, Serial Entrepreneur. David has extensive experience in the photonics sector, having worked in this field as a researcher/developer at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), the LAAS-CNRS (Toulouse) and Monocrom. In the field of entrepreneurship, David has participated as a partner in the creation of a company related to renewable energies: Nostraenergy. David’s PhD thesis was conducted at UPC about the development of silicon photonic structures for signal detection and processing, base know-how for the foundation of Mapsi jointly with Daniel’s thesis. He and Daniel founded Mapsi Photonics, where he is currently in charge of the company's management and commercial tasks.

Eduardo Margallo (CEO) is Mouro Labs’ founder and CEO. He successfully launched MedLumics, a medical device company based in Madrid, Spain. As its chief executive during the period 2011-2017, he led the development of the first Optical Coherence Tomography technology platform based on integrated optics, took a class II diagnostic product to market and raised more than €40M in private and public funding. Dr. Margallo holds a PhD in biophotonics from TU Delft (NL), an MBA from Brown University (USA), and MSc level degrees in telecommunications engineering, physics and electrical engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES), Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (ES) and Universität Stuttgart (DE).