14th International Laser Marketplace

Dr. Arnold Mayer is president and founder of Optech Consulting, a consultancy specializing in the laser and photonics industry. The company provides consulting for industry, investment bodies, and government. It publishes periodic reports on the industrial laser market and organizes the International Laser Marketplace symposium. Prior to founding Optech Consulting in 1992 Arnold held positions in business development, industrial R&D, and management consulting. He received his degree in physics from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart.

Arnold Mayer chairs the 14th International Laser Marketplace and gives a presentation on the global laser market.

Günther Braun served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc. from May 9, 2005 to July 1, 2015 and as Chief Financial Officer from September 26, 1996 to December 15, 2005. Prior to that he held other management positions with the company. He joined Rofin in 1989 in connection with Rofin‘s acquisition of Coherent General Inc.’s Laser Optronics marking division. He served as a Director of Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc. from September 1996 to July 1, 2015 and was from 2007 to June 2015 Chairman of the Working Committee Laser and Laser Systems for Materials Processing within the VDMA (German Machine Tool Association). Mr. Braun holds a Master Business Administration Degree from the University of Applied Science Regensburg, Germany.

Günther Braun presently works as independent consultant. At the 14th International Laser Marketplace he moderates the CEO interviews and the executive panel discussion.

Scott Keeney is CEO and co-founder of nLIGHT a leader in high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers with facilities in Vancouver, Washington, Hillsboro, Oregon; Shanghai, China; and Lohja, Finland.  nLIGHT lasers are used in a broad range of industrial, medical, and aerospace applications.  nLIGHT completed its initial public offering in April 2018 and is traded on Nasdaq: LASR. Previously, Scott was CEO of Aculight (acquired by Lockheed) and a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Scott holds a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Scott Keeney discusses with Günther Braun.

Mr. Merk was appointed Executive Vice President and General Manager, Industrial Lasers & Systems at Coherent in December 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Merk was Chief Executive Officer and President of Rofin‑Sinar Technologies Inc. and a member of its board of directors from July 2015 to November 2016, when the acquisition of Rofin by Coherent was completed. From December 2005 to July 2015 Mr. Merk was the Chief Operating Officer of the Rofin Micro and Marking Business and a Managing Director of Carl Baasel Lasertechnik GmbH & Co. KG from May 2000 to November 2016. He started his career in 1989 at Boehringer Werkzeugmaschinen Vertriebs GmbH, a machine tool company, and remained there until 2000, most recently serving as managing director. Mr. Merk holds a Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Stuttgart, Germany.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Thomas Merk joins the panel discussion.

Prof. Falk Strascheg, partner of EXTOREL, is one of the most experienced and successful venture investors in Germany and Europe. He built his own laser technology company with Laser-Optronic in the 1970s and 1980s and successfully sold it to Coherent Inc., Palo Alto, California. In 1987, he co-founded TECHNOLOGIEHOLDING, one of Europe’s leading venture capital firms, which was acquired from the British 3i Group plc. in the year 2000.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Falk Strascheg discusses with Günther Braun.

Dr. Qitao Lue joined Han’s Laser Technology Industry Group in June 2008 as Executive Vice President & CTO and is responsible for laser source & laser system development. Dr. Qitao Lue devotes to industrial laser development and applications for more than 30 years and worked at the industrial laser system supplier Rofin-Sinar Laser Technology Inc. for 6 years and at the laser source manufacturer Coherent Inc. for another 3 years. After graduated in Optics & Lasers from Huazhong University of Science & Technology (China), Dr. Qitao Lue became the scholarship holder of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. (Germany) in 1984 and continued the Diploma studies at Physics department of University Kaiserslautern (Germany). From 1988 to 1992, he was assistant professor at Physics department of Technical University of Berlin (Germany) and got his Physics Ph.D in 1992. He was a co-founder of Bavarian Photonics GmbH. He published more than 50 technical articles and is the inventor of six international patents.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Quitao Lue gives a presentation on the laser market in China and joins the panel discussion.

Berthold Schmidt is CTO of the business unit Trumpf Laser Technology, Germany. Earlier he was CEO of TRUMPF Photonics Inc., the production center for III-V high power diode lasers and subsystems located near Princeton, NJ. Previously, he was Head of Corporate Research establishing the TRUMPF Venture GmbH to promote disruptive technologies in early startup companies. Before joining TRUMPF, he was CEO of Intense Ltd. in Scotland, UK and active in various management roles at Bookham, Switzerland. Berthold Schmidt received his PhD from the Technical University in Munich. He graduated from the University in Wuerzburg, Germany, holds a MSc from SUNY Albany and an executive BBA from the GSBA in Zurich. From 2005 to 2018 Berthold Schmidt supported the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) in the field of micro and nano technologies as a technical expert.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Dr. Berthold Schmidt joins the panel discussion.

Koji Yasui received B.S. and Ph. D. degrees from the University of Tokyo in 1982 and 1989 respectively. He was a visiting scientist at the Stanford University in 1989. He joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1982, where he has developed high-power CO2 lasers, high-power solid-state lasers, high-power green lasers, high-power 266nm UV lasers and laser processing machines using those laser sources. He is now working as a senior chief engineer and as a senior chief technologist in charge of laser technology, EDM technology, CNC technology and e-beam technology and related businesses. He is also sub-program director of SIP and program sub-leader of COI, programs supported by the Japanese government. He is a committee member of various IoT/AI related meetings.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Koji Yasui gives a presentation on the laser market in Japan and the integration of lasers into smart manufacturing.

Dr. Frank Baumann joined Trumpf Laser Division in December 2018 as Product Manager responsible for the High Power Laser portfolio. This product group includes Disc, Fiber and Diode Lasers, as well as optics and accessories. Prior to that, he was Head of Product Development at Regent Lighting and held several positions, including Development Engineer, Project Manager and R&D Manager, at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors and OSRAM, respectively. Frank Baumann studied physics at the Universities of Bayreuth, Germany, and St Andrews, Scotland, and received his PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart in 2006. He is inventor of about 10 patents on LED and Laser Technology.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Frank Baumann gives a presentation on the efficiency of laser processes.

Maulik Patel is Executive Director & responsible for Global Business for SLTL Group – Sahajanand Laser Technology Ltd. since 2015. SLTL Group has been the centre point for revolution of Fiber laser for sheet metal cutting application as being the World’s First Fiber laser Cutting Machine Manufacturer since 2002. Major laser business divisions are Diamond Processing laser systems where SLTL is world’s Largest and Industrial Laser systems where focus is on Medical industry, Jewellery, Electronics, Automotive industry, Laser additive manufacturing, applications in e-mobility and general engineering. Maulik started working with SLTL Group since 2009 and received a degree in Mechatronics Engineering and Management Development from IIM-Ahmedabad in 2012.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Maulik Patel gives a presentation on the laser market in India.

Prof. Halefsan Sumen earned his Electrical Engineer degree from Technical University of Istanbul, and his Ph.D. in Engineering Management from Marmara University of Istanbul. He has a dual career both in university and private sector. For seven years he lectures several courses under the supply chain management topic in Maltepe University of Istanbul and works more than 10 years as editor-in-chief and columnist in monthly Turkish magazines: Industry 4.0, Robot Investments, and Automation, published by ST Endustri Medya.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Halefsan Sumen gives a presentation on the laser market in Turkey.

Dr. Martynas Barkauskas is recently appointed CEO of Light Conversion, a leading femtosecond laser manufacturer located in Vilnius, Lithuania. Femtosecond lasers from Light Conversion are broadly used for scientific and industrial applications with more than 10 years history of their usage in 24/7 manufacturing. 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.

At the 14th International Laser Marketplace Dr. Martynas Barkauskas joins the panel discussion.