Liquid lens provider Varioptic announced the appointment of Hamid Farzaneh as its chief executive officer in its plans to commercialize its liquid lens technology. With expertise in leading global high-growth technology start-ups and high volume business experience, Farzaneh joins Varioptic at a time when it looks to accelerate market penetration by partnering with leading smart phone, industrial automation and security companies, to establish its liquid lens technology as the leading solution for miniaturized still and video cameras. “Hamid has an ideal blend of industry expertise and leadership savvy and brings an impressive track record of growing companies, boosting performance and driving corporate excellence,” said Dirk Kanngiesser, chairman of the board. “He is the strategic addition that the company needs to build a strong global team and enhance the company’s market position internationally.” The company has debuted its Arctic 314 and Arctic 416 Auto-Focus liquid lens products in 2008, and it has recently demonstrated its combined high performance Auto-Focus and Optical Image Stabilization technology at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Prior to joining the company, he served as president and CEO for DisplayLink. Before that he worked at Silicon Optix Inc. as executive vice president of sales and business development. He has also held positions at Motion Sense, Genesis Microchip, ASAT and National Semiconductor Corp. Farzaneh will be based in the company’s Silicon Valley location, where he will globally lead the company’s team located in Lyon and in other sites worldwide. For more information, visit: www.varioptic.com