POET Technologies‘ (PTK:TSXV) has finally named its new CEO after a rather lengthy search of more than one year.
To say he is qualified or has a lot of experience in the semiconductor industry would be an understatement.
POET Technologies CEO appointment: Dr. Suresh Venkatesan
On June 11th, POET Technologies announced the appointment of Dr. Suresh Venkatesan who holds over twenty US patents and co-authored over 40 technical papers.
As reported on June 11th by POET, Dr. Suresh Venkatesan was most recently Senior Vice President, Technology Development at GLOBALFOUNDRIES and was responsible for the company’s Technology Research and Development.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is not a small company. It is a semiconductor company, whose main products are silicon wafers. The company reported US$4.26 billion in 2013 revenue.
image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlobalFoundries#/media/File:GLOBALFOUNDRIE…
Dr. Suresh is downsizing, albeit to a more significant role with a smaller company; but he is joining a tech company (POET) potentially in the early stages of its growth curve. This is a move often taken by proven individuals in their field, and appeals to many professionals who want a more hands on experience (often those who are more concerned with career legacies).
Clearly Dr. Suresh sees potential in POET and the semiconductor market. In his own words, he stated: “I see immense market potential for POET Technology’s III-V complementary semiconductor fabrication process.”
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POET’s market is still digesting the news, one day after gapping up 10% on over 750,000 shares traded. Its stock was up another 1% on over a quarter million shares traded Friday afternoon to $1.56 per share.
It will be interesting to see if POET’s speed of development is fast-tracked now that the company has a permanent CEO.
Dr. Suresh worked for the preeminent integrated circuits company, GLOBALFOUNDRIES; and, according to Wikipedia:
“The firm manufactures integrated circuits in high volume mostly for semiconductor companies such as AMD, Broadcom, Qualcomm, and STMicroelectronics. It has five 200 mm wafer fabrication plants in Singapore, and two 300 mm fabrication plants each in Germany and Singapore, as well as a new 300 mm fabrication plant in Malta, Saratoga County, New York in the United States scheduled to begin volume production in 2013.”
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlobalFoundries#cite_note-300mm-5
I most recently wrote about POET Technologies on April 28th, following the appointment of Subhash Deshmukh in an article titled POET Technologies adds Deshmukh with revenue in mind. Like Suresh Venkatesan, the company’s newly appointed CEO, Deshmukh hails from a much larger company: Applied Materials.
Below is a short excerpt from the late-April article:
“While a spike in insider buying led us to POET Technologies way back in early January of 2014, the company’s unwillingness to give up its dream to rewrite Moore’s Law has been the reason behind our continual follow up.
Yesterday, on April 27th, 2015, POET announced the appointment of Dr. Subhash Deshmukh as its COO.
While I could write a short novel on Dr. Deshmukh’s accomplishments in the semiconductor industry, a few key words in yesterday’s press release stood out above Deshmukh’s many accolades.
Mr. Copetti, interim CEO and Executive Co-Chairman, stated that:
“Subhash’s appointment marks another crucial step in the Company’s succession plan as it moves towards monetizing the POET process.”
This is one of the first times in a press release where Copetti has mentioned the word monetizing.
These words highlight the much talked about “Lab to Fab” transition; furthermore, the company appears to be openly preparing for the next stage in the POET platform.”
Click here to read the entire article.
Dr. Suresh Venkatesan: a snapshot
Dr. Suresh Venkatesan holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and PhD degrees from Purdue University.
With over 22 years in the semiconductor industry, Venkatesan has worked on a wide range of projects.
Dr. Venkatesan began his career with Motorola, Inc. and served in roles of increasing responsibility including Engineering Manager of CMOS Platform Development and Engineering Director for Thoughtbeam, Inc., a Motorola company, according to Bloomberg Business.
While at Motorola, Dr. Venkatesan worked in the Advanced Products Research and Development Laboratory.
Options granted to Dr. Venkatesan
Dr. Venkatesan was granted 6,357,082 options to purchase common shares of the Company. The options may be exercised at a price of $1.40 per share for a term of 5 years from the effective date of his employment, expiring on June 10, 2020.
POET : revenue and monetization
These two words have been used by POET team members in the past as the company continues to advance its fabrication process. Although not at the monetization stage yet, former CEO Peter Copetti referenced “monetizing the POET process” in late-April and now Geoff Taylor has commented on potential revenue in June 11th’s press release. Below is an excerpt of a quote taken from June 11th’s press release:
“Dr. Geoff Taylor, POET founder, commented that:
“…We are now focused on product development and achieving revenue. Peter raised the bar every day and executed tirelessly towards his vision for the company. He has assembled a great team both at the Board of Directors level and at the POET executive level which has substantially augmented our semiconductor industry experience to deliver on the POET Technology for our shareholders.”
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POET Technologies now has its new CEO to go along with its recently appointed COO. The company is clearly preparing to make deeper inroads into the semiconductor industry as it advances the III-V complementary semiconductor fabrication process.
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