Ondax Appoints New CEO

Jan. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- Ondax, Inc, a world leader in the design and manufacture of Volume Holographic Grating filters (VHGs) and wavelength stabilized, semiconductor lasers for the industrial, defense, scientific and medical markets, announced that it has appointed Randy Heyler as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 4, 2010.  Mr. Heyler succeeds Dr. Christophe Moser, Ondax co-founder and outgoing CEO, who will be relocating to his native Switzerland to pursue an academic career as professor of engineering and industrial relations at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL).  Dr. Moser will continue to be involved with Ondax in the role of Chief Technology Officer.

Mr. Heyler brings nearly 30 years of leadership experience in the photonics industry, most recently with Newport Corporation, where his responsibilities included general management, technology planning, strategic and product marketing, OEM business development, branding and product positioning, and industry trade and technical association leadership.  His accomplishments include identifying and leading new business and product strategies, resulting in major new product platforms, technologies, and market channels, particularly in the area of photonics packaging. Randy holds both a BSME and an MS in Engineering Management from Stanford University.

“Ondax is poised for strong growth, as many of the diverse market segments that have been integrating our VHG filter and laser products are now ramping up their adoption of this unique technology,” Heyler explained.  “The company has done a great job of getting new, innovative products to market and developing strong customer relationships, and my job will be to help prioritize and guide the uptake of VHG-based products into the most promising markets and applications.”

“We are very excited that Randy will be coming on board full time to lead the company during this next phase of our growth” added Dr. Moser.  “He has been assisting us with strategic planning and marketing over the past year, and has become intimately familiar with both our technology and our customers.  We have built a terrific team at Ondax and I am delighted to stay engaged and to provide continued technical assistance going forward.”

Stephen Watkins, Ondax Board Chairman, added “Randy’s outstanding track record of developing and implementing growth strategies at Newport, along with his extensive experience in the photonics industry, is an ideal fit for Ondax.  He has quickly grasped the opportunities ahead of us, and has helped us craft a strategic growth plan that should expand our position in high-value application segments.”

For more information contact:

Randy Heyler                  
Ondax Inc.      
Tel. (626) 357-9600
Fax (626) 357-9321
rheyler@ondax.com
www.ondax.com

Stephen Watkins
Arcturus Capital
Tel. (626) 578-5714
stephen@arcturusvc.com

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Ondax, Inc. has been manufacturing commercial VHG filters since 2001. VHGs improve laser diode performance by increasing spectral brightness, locking emission wavelength and increasing yield. In ultra-fast lasers, chirped VHGs reduce the form factor of conventional pulse compressors by two orders of magnitude while providing higher laser power. Ondax also manufactures single frequency VHG-stabilized laser diodes at wavelengths from 403nm to 860 nm for applications in Raman spectroscopy, flow cytometry, biomedical instrumentation, semiconductor material testing, and scientific research.