Newport CEO Robert Deuster to Retire

Robert G. Deuster, chairman and CEO of Newport Corp. of Irvine, Calif., will retire effective Oct. 5, the company announced today. Robert J. Phillippy, Newport's president and chief operating officer, has assumed the role of CEO and will serve on the board. Kenneth F. Potashner, a board member since 1998, has been appointed nonexecutive chairman. Phillippy is an 11-year veteran of Newport and has served as the president and COO since 2004. During that time, he had an instrumental role in initiatives including the integration of Newport's Spectra-Physics acquisition and its integrated photonics solutions strategy. Phillippy was previously vice president and general manager of the US operations of Newport's Industrial and Scientific Technologies Div. (now part of the Photonics and Precision Technologies Div.), where he led its transition from being a provider of discrete components and instruments primarily for scientific research customers to a manufacturer of components and integrated systems for research and commercial applications.