Founded NIRA Innovations Inc. with other industry veterans. Closed Series A funding within 6 months of incorporation. Grew NIRA Innovations Inc. from concept to profitability. 19 patents for the only home laser device proven to renew skin without pain or redness.

Founder and general manager of SemiNex Corporation, which designs and build high-power laser diodes for medical, military, and industrial applications. Grew SemiNex to be the leading supplier in InP laser diodes worldwide. SemiNex is the marketshare leader in key markets including: professional medical, home medical, military range finding, OTDR, and the emerging automotive LIDAR market.

- Developed and implemented Corning Lasertron’s Marketing strategy for EDFA pump lasers. Built and managed the marketing department for 980nm and Raman pump lasers.- Defined overall product strategy and product roadmaps. Worked closely with Corning division management to finalize strategy and presented to the CEO and staff. Grew market share from 10% to 50%.- Managed pricing, product mix, forecasting, customer prioritization, applications engineering, advertising, and promotional activity. Completely redesigned web site and collateral materials, doubling web hits.- Served as Project Manager to qualify Corning Lasertron pumps with all Corning Incorporated amplifier customers including Nortel, Lucent, and Ciena. Completed the qualification project one-year ahead of schedule.- Built loosely managed Raman development effort into a well-functioning project team with clear goals, objectives, and integrated project plan. Set up dedicated cross-functional project team and supporting high-level steering committee. Directly managed the project through the critical early development stages and achieved industry-leading performance.- Optimized key component supply relationships and reduced one key supplier part cost by 75% through improved design and supplier partnership.- Redesigned the entire product delivery system, from order entry through manufacturing planning, execution, and order shipment. Managed new product and information flow, part numbering systems, and process feedback to optimize product quality, yield, cost, and control. Reduced product variants by >80% and cut inventory by >50%.- Managed other optical component businesses for Variable Optical Attenuators, Couplers, Getters, and launch new laser chip product sales.

- Developed and implemented Corning’s long-term strategy for EDFA pump lasers. Developed business plans and managed commercial priorities for Corning’s R&D in laser technology.- Evaluated internal & external supply options for semiconductor laser chips and assemblies, which led to a $2 billion acquisition of Oak Industries, which included Lasertron Inc.- Supported extensive pump laser due diligence for Oak Industries acquisition.- Evaluated external laser chip and optoelectronic packaging suppliers in the US, Japan, and Korea. Led negotiations for a 5-year supply agreement with Japanese laser packaging supplier and a similar agreement for laser chips.

- Managed various projects that support the Product Line Management of Corning multimode fiber products ($100M business). Primarily responsible for expanding optical fiber in the networked PC market (“Fiber-To-The-Desk”).- Negotiated and closed strategic supply and joint development contract with 3M Corporation to target Fiber-To-The-Desk. Negotiated very favorable terms for Corning in the areas of: product supply (100% Corning product), pricing, product development, and joint promotions.- Managed new titania-doped fiber development and implementation for 3M. Met schedule, cost, and volume targets.- Managed product strategy development for new Laser Optimized Fiber. Launched Corning’s new InfiniCor™ fiber, which is now the most successful multimode fiber in the industry. Developed the trademark InfiniCor™.- Performed financial analyses for project justifications and contract negotiations. Closed two long-term supply contracts.

Marketed Purdue University’s intellectual property (IP).- Prioritized IP portfolio based on potential market need, expected market acceptance, and expected financial returns.- Successfully marketed two technologies: - Microwave mode conversion technique to a major aerospace company- Hard metal turning technique to a leading manufacturer of railroad bearings

- Helped develop brand strategy for filtration products and rationalize manufacturing between two factories.- Coordinated the efforts of a high-level, cross-functional team to redesign filter product line.- Performed primary market research for PCR Thermowell product to determine critical customer requirements.- Developed an annual benchmarking survey for the overall business group.

Developed and implemented large equipment projects. Most projects focused on increasing production capacity with minimum capital investment.- Managed 5 engineers to concurrently upgrade machinery and redesign production flow:- Managed Centrifuge Tube production line upgrades to increase capacity by 25%

Responsible for the general management of the Oneonta factory (~$80M business) on the evening shift.- Directly managed 38 production employees.- Managed daily production scheduling, operations, training, and troubleshooting activities.

Complete engineering responsibility for centrifuge tube production equipment ($15M business) including injection molding machines and high-speed printing, capping and packaging equipment. Responsible for daily production output, equipment maintenance, equipment upgrades, new product implementation, quality improvements and technical training. - Doubled production capacity over 1½ year period through yield & cycle time improvements.- Reduced variable piece cost by 50% and reduced non-wage fixed costs by 14%.- Converted production lines to Just-In-Time manufacturing.- Developed team atmosphere in unionized plant by holding regular production team meetings, introducing a goal sharing program, and recognizing team achievements.

Managed engineering projects from initial concepts through production startup and debug. Capital projects ranged from $50-800k. Worked closely with customer’s plant trades people, production work force, and management staff to ensure new equipment met all cross-functional requirements. Often formed project teams.