Coherent CEO Resigns in Restructuring

Recently, laser giant Coherent (COHR) released an announcement.
Coherent Corporation announced that President Walter R. Bashaw II will resign on September 6, 2024, due to a company restructuring that resulted in the cancellation of his position.

His resignation is classified as a 'Good Reason' termination, which ensures that he will receive full severance compensation in accordance with existing company agreements (specific amount not disclosed).

Walter R. Bashaw II has extensive legal and management experience. He has been working at Sherrard, German&Kelly law firm for 31 years, during which he has served as a lawyer and executive director, accumulating profound legal practice and management experience.

During this period, he joined the well-known laser company II-VI (completed the merger and renamed Coherent in July 2022), serving as the General Counsel and Secretary of the company. He was promoted to President in 2019 and has been with the company for a total of 8 years and 9 months, demonstrating outstanding leadership and corporate management skills.

Specifically, Walter R. Bashaw II joined Coherent in 2018 and has been serving as the company's president since 2019. He once served as Vice President of Strategy. In this position, he is mainly responsible for the company's mergers and acquisitions and integration work.

Before joining Coherent, he was a senior partner at Sherrard, German&Kelly law firm in Pittsburgh, specializing in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and technology planning. He has extensive experience in startups and frequently handles complex corporate transactions with manufacturing, e-commerce, real estate, healthcare service providers, and high-tech companies.

II-VI
8 years and 9 months in total (President, July 2019 present, 5 years and 2 months; General Counsel and Secretary General, December 2015 present, 8 years and 9 months)

Sherrard, German & Kelly, P.C.

General Manager, September 1993 present · 31 years
Walter R. Bashaw II's initial appointment at II-VI coincided with the completion of II-VI's acquisition of Finisar, which roughly doubled the company's size.

The decision to appoint Walter R. Bashaw II to such a crucial role at the time reflects the strong partnership between SGK Law Firm and II-VI Company. SGK Law Firm served as an external legal advisor to II-VI Company for most of its mature development, and has led or participated in all mergers and acquisitions and other strategic domestic and international transactions since the establishment of II-VI Company.

In this partnership, II-VI Company has grown into a global leading supplier of engineering materials, optoelectronic components, and optical systems in various industries such as telecommunications, aerospace and defense, life sciences, semiconductor equipment, material processing, automotive, and consumer electronics.

In the process of working side by side with II-VI Company, SGK Law Firm has proven itself to be a top tier law firm in business, transactional, and technical services.

The appointment of Walter R. Bashaw II at that time was not only a high recognition of his outstanding contributions and those of the SGK law firm team to II-VI company over the years, but also a vivid interpretation of the results of our cooperation and the deep trust and respect between us.

According to a power of attorney submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the 2023 fiscal year, Walter R. Bashaw II's total compensation as President of COHERENT CORP. is $4525336. Among them, $575000 was obtained as salary, $33498 as bonus, $0 as stock option, $3868315 as stock, and $48523 from other types of compensation. The total amount of cash compensation information consists of annual basic salary and bonuses.

In terms of educational background, Walter R. Bashaw II comes from Pennsylvania State University and obtained a Bachelor's degree in Logistics in 1987. This academic foundation laid a solid foundation for his success in the fields of law and business management. He qualified as a lawyer in Pennsylvania in 1993 and as a lawyer in Maryland in 2004. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and graduated with honors.

Source: OFweek