16 June 2015

POET adds CEO and Alfalight president & CEO to board

Following its annual meeting of shareholders and subsequent meeting of directors on 12 June, the board of POET Technologies Inc of Toronto, Canada – which, through subsidiary OPEL Defense Integrated Systems (ODIS Inc) of Storrs, CT, USA, has developed the proprietary planar-optoelectronic technology (POET) platform for monolithic fabrication of integrated III-V-based electronic and optical devices on a single semiconductor wafer – has increased the number of directors from 8 to 10 and appointed CEO Dr Suresh Venkatesan and Mohandas Warrior to fill the vacancies created by the increase.

Since February 2004, Warrior has been president & CEO of Alfalight Inc of Madison, WI, USA, a gallium arsenide (GaAs)-based high-power diode laser manufacturing company that serves military, telecom and industrial customers. Warrior re-started the firm in 2004 and established it as a provider of high-powered laser diode solutions in both commercial and defense segments. The firm sold the commercial business in 2013. He continues to run the retained defense and security segments of Alfalight, which is now focused on providing solid-state laser systems for targeting, tracking and illumination applications to the US military. Under his leadership, Alfalight has grown profitably and is anticipating a value-added merger & acquisition (M&A) transaction during 2015. Prior to joining Alfalight, Warrior's career included 15 years at Motorola Semiconductors (now Freescale) where he led the test & assembly operations (a group of 3500 staff) in the USA, Scotland and South Korea.

Warrior has a BTech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

"He brings a new dimension to the board, with his unique GaAs foundry experience serving commercial and defense markets for high-powered laser diode solutions," comments Venkatesan. "He is the latest addition to our world-class technical team on the board of directors that we have assembled over the past six months," he adds. "We look forward to working with Mohan and the board as we continue the drive from 'lab-to-fab' as part of our monetization strategy."

At the annual meeting of shareholders, the shareholders approved the following items:

• re-election of all of the directors of the company, as recommended by management;

• the re-appointment of certified public accountants Marcum LLP of New Haven, CT, as auditors for the ensuing year;

• amendment of the firm's stock option plan (with all interested parties abstaining from voting) to: (a) increase the maximum number of common shares reserved for issuance under the plan to 36,326,000 (slightly less than 20% of the outstanding shares of the company) and (ii) to change the maximum time allowable for the exercise of vested options following the date an officer or director ceases to be in that role from 180 days to one year; and

• authorizing (subject to regulatory approval) the filing of articles of amendment to consolidate common shares on the basis of one new share for a maximum of every three shares issued and outstanding and a change company name to POET Technologies Corp. Notwithstanding shareholder approval of the proposed consolidation, the board (in its sole discretion) may revoke the special resolution and abandon the consolidation without further approval or action by or prior notice to shareholders. The board has not yet determined whether it will in fact complete the consolidation or if the ratio will be in the maximum amount authorized.

Tags: POET

Visit: www.poet-technologies.com