Photonic integrated circuit manufacturer NeoPhotonics Corp. has appointed Rusnano USA Inc. President and CEO Dmitry Akhanov to its board of directors. Akhanov replaces Sergey Polikarpov as the designated nominee of Russian sovereign fund investor Rusnano, which has a contractual right to designate one nominee to NeoPhotonics’ board. The two companies completed a private placement investment last May (See: Rusnano Makes Strategic Investment in NeoPhotonics). Before joining Rusnano, Akhanov was the head of the Russian Federal Energy Agency. He also served as the head of the Strategy Department of RAO UES (a state-owned electric power holding company in Russia). In conjunction with this, he implemented several corporate projects for the separation, merger and acquisition of major energy companies in Russia. “We look forward to the insight and other contributions Dmitry will provide as the board guides the company during this period of exciting opportunity in the optical networking sector,” said NeoPhotonics chair and CEO Tim Jenks. “We expect his personal experiences in the Russia market will bring an important new dimension to the board, especially with regards to developing new markets.” The company opened a sales and R&D office in Moscow earlier this year to serve the Russian Federation and broader Eastern European market (See: NeoPhotonics Opens Sales Office in Moscow). For more information, visit: www.neophotonics.com