The fourth CEO of this laser giant takes over strongly

According to the latest news, on June 3, 2024, Coherent Corp. appointed Jim Anderson as CEO and he will also become a member of the board, replacing Vincent "Chuck" Mattera.

Image source: Coherent
Anderson (left) Mattera (right)

Dr. Vincent "Chuck" D. Mattera, Jr. previously notified the Coherent Board of Directors on February 20, 2024, stating that he would resign from the position of CEO upon his successor's appointment.

According to research, Anderson holds an MBA and Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

He joined Lattice Semiconductor as President, CEO, and Board Member in 2018. However, prior to this, Anderson had served as Vice President and General Manager at AMD's Computing and Graphics Business Group, and also had a history of leading companies such as Intel, Broadcom, and LSI Corporation.
As mentioned earlier, Dr. Vincent "Chuck" D. Mattera, Jr., the previous CEO of Coherent, led the transformation of II-VI into a globally diversified Coherent Corp. During his tenure, Coherent Corp. increased its annual revenue from $150 million in the 2004 fiscal year to over $5 billion in the 2023 fiscal year over a period of 20 years. Dr. Chuck is indispensable to Coherent Corp.'s success today.

Enrico DiGirolamo, Chairman of Coherent's Board of Directors, stated that Anderson's business acumen and technical abilities, coupled with his extensive experience in transforming complex global businesses to achieve growth and profitability above market levels, make him an ideal leader to lead Coherent into a new chapter in a rapidly changing market.

Previously, due to macroeconomic uncertainty, Coherent's recent performance did not meet expectations. For the full year of 2023 (non fiscal year), Coherent achieved a revenue of approximately $4.629 billion, a net loss attributable to shareholders of $404 million, and a revenue of $1.209 billion in the first quarter of 2024 (third quarter of fiscal year 2024). Non GAAP earnings per share were $0.53, operating cash flow was $117 million, and outstanding debt of $58 million was repaid.

Not long ago, a wafer fab owned by Coherent in Durham, UK, faced the risk of being sold and kicked out of the "fruit chain" by Apple. Although this incident has had a significant impact on Coherent, with many cutting-edge technologies, Coherent still maintains its vitality in new product development as always.

On May 30th, Coherent announced the launch of a new generation of high-power laser sensors aimed at supporting the expanding high-power application market and reducing measurement time by up to 500%.

Image source: Coherent

This new generation PM10K+laser power sensor can measure the power output of up to 10kW (12kW intermittent) continuous lasers in less than 3 seconds, and has a large effective area of 65mmx65mm to prevent large beam size clipping. It also has laser interlocking function, which can terminate the laser during the measurement process to protect the sensor from damage.

Overall, Coherent is currently facing various severe challenges, and the strong takeover of the fourth CEO undoubtedly injects new vitality into the company. The new strategic direction and management philosophy he brings heralds a new chapter for the company.

Source: OFweek