Michael J. Cumbo, president of Idex Corp.’s Optics & Photonics (IOP) platform, confirmed earlier media reports that he is leaving the company, but told Photonics.com on Wednesday that it is an “amicable parting.” Cumbo said the decision to part ways “was made three weeks ago,” adding, “I am doing everything I can to support the ‘onboarding’ of my successor.” He spoke with Photonics.com from the IOP headquarters, where he said he spent the day working with his successor, Jerry Jurkiewicz, to make the transition “as seamless as possible.” Jurkiewicz is leaving his position as CEO of industrial bolting torque and tension tools maker Bolttech Mannings. He also was a former vice president of PerkinElmer’s Optoelectronics Div. Mike Cumbo speaking at the Prism Awards ceremony in January 2012. Cumbo, who began his career in 1980 at Eastman Kodak, plans to stay connected to the industry. “My professional life is in optics and photonics, solid-state imagers and integrated circuits.” As for the future, he said he will pursue “a couple of big things” that don’t fit into Idex’s business plan. “The things that Idex has done and continue to do strategically are spot on,” he said, adding, “I still own Idex stock, and I intend to hold it.” Cumbo said he will remain as an adviser at Idex through the end of February, then pursue “more innovative things from the private side,” beginning full time in March. He alludes to that on his LinkedIn page, where he writes that he is “a newly liberated entrepreneurial executive searching for high tech small business ownership opportunities.” Among the acquisitions he will consider are “private asset sales, spin-offs, divestitures and restructured start-ups.” Before his Idex position, Cumbo was general manager of Semrock Inc. Other positions include serving as president and CEO of BinOptics, as executive vice president and general manager of Optical Technologies at Coherent, and as vice president and general manager at JDS Uniphase. Illinois-based Idex officially announced the formation of IOP within its Health and Science Technologies segment in January 2012 and named Cumbo as its first president. At that time, the platform consisted of CVI Melles Griot, which Idex purchased in June 2011 for $395 million; Semrock (acquired in 2008); and Advanced Thin Films (acquired in January 2011). The combination forms a portfolio of highly engineered photonic components and subsystems for life science, medical, industrial, defense and semiconductor applications, Idex said in its announcement at the time. The company has since bought Boulder, Colo.-based Precision Photonics Corp. for $20.5 million and added the optical components and coatings maker to IOP.