Fiber laser maker IPG Photonics Corp. announced three senior management appointments today aimed at strengthening its sales and marketing efforts worldwide. Trevor Ness has been promoted to senior vice president worldwide sales and marketing and will continue to supervise Asia operations. Also, David Gray was appointed vice president — strategic development and systems solutions; and Yuri Erokhin was appointed vice president — strategic marketing. "Trevor Ness has been successful at IPG in establishing strong relationships with OEMs in Asia, as well as improving service and the effectiveness of the sales force there," said IPG Photonics CEO Dr. Valentin Gapontsev. "David Gray has a proven track record of driving rapid growth through organic product development, strategic acquisitions and operational execution. Yuri Erokhin has a strong scientific background that he has applied to the development of sophisticated marketing strategies to identify and secure new business opportunities." Ness joined IPG in January 2011 as vice president - Asian Operations, and successfully managed double digit growth in China, Japan and Korea, the company said. Before that, he served as director of GSI Precision Technologies China at GSI Group. From 1997 until 2005, Ness served in various senior management sales and operations roles in the UK and Asia with GSIL Asia Pacific, Westwind Japan, and Westwind Air Bearings Ltd. Gray joins IPG from GT Advanced Technologies, where he served in multiple roles, most recently as its chief strategy and new business officer. Prior to that, he served as a senior M&A advisor to the photonics and electronics markets with Alliant Partners and Broadview. Early in his career, Gray also co-founded Aspect International Inc. and served as a senior engineer with Raychem in its display products group. Erokhin joins IPG from Applied Materials/Varian Semiconductor Equipment, where he has worked since 2003 and served as senior director, strategic marketing, since 2006. Prior to working at Applied Materials, he was vice president of wafer technology at Ibis Technology. From 1995 to 2000, Erokhin was at Axcelis Technologies, where he was director of process technology. From 1980 to 1995, he worked as a research scientist at various institutions. Erokhin earned an MS with Honors in quantum electronics (lasers) from the Moscow Physical-Technical Institute and a PhD in microelectronics technology from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. For more information, visit: www.ipgphotonics.com