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Laird Thermal Systems Appoints CEO: People in the News: 4/23/25

Photonics.com
Apr 2025ROSENHEIM, Germany, April 23, 2025 — Laird Thermal Systems, a thermal management solutions developer, has appointed Max Kley as its new CEO. Kley has held various international leadership positions across the medical, industrial, and energy industries in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including serving as CEO of Freudenberg Medical Group for six years, and most recently as CEO of Freudenberg e-Power Systems.

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Max Kley. Courtesy of Laird Thermal Systems.

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WALCZ, Poland — Laser cutters producer Eagle Lasers has named Chad Jackson as CEO of its U.S. branch, Eagle Americas. With nearly three decades of experience in the metal processing industry, Jackson most recently served as regional sales manager for Bystronic Inc. and previously as its direct sales engineer.

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Chad Jackson. Courtesy of Eagle Lasers.

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BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — SkyWater Technology, a semiconductor manufacturer, has appointed Percy V. Gilbert as senior vice president of engineering, responsible for expanding SkyWater’s engineering organization. Gilbert brings over two decades of industry leadership and technical work to SkyWater, including senior roles at NXP Semiconductors and IBM Systems Group.

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Integrated photonics and quantum optics technology company Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi)'s CEO and president William McGann has notified the company’s board of his intention to retire, effective May 12. In the interim, the company’s board has appointed Yuping Huang as interim CEO and president and has formed a committee to select a new CEO. McGann first joined QCi as a member of the board of directors in September 2021 and transitioned to COO and CTO in January 2022 before becoming CEO and president in 2024. Huang currently serves as chairman of the board and chief quantum officer for QCi, and previously was the founder of QPhoton, Inc.

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Mark Williamson. Courtesy of Vision Markets.

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MAMMENDORF, Germany — Vision Markets, a consulting company for the machine vision industry, has added Mark Williamson to its consulting team effective immediately. Williamson was the founder of Firstsight Vision, which was later acquired by Stemmer Imaging, where he served as managing director for the company's U.K. business. He has also held a corporate market development role within Stemmer's senior leadership team.

BOULDER, Colo. — Jun Ye, a distinguished fellow of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and of JILA at the University of Colorado Boulder, has received the 2025 Berthold Leibinger Zufunftspreis. The award recognizes outstanding research in laser science and technology and carries a prize of €50,000 ($57,118). The award acknowledges Ye's work in optical clocks and frequency metrology. More news & features