Managing Director of the High Tech Optics activities of the Thales Group between 2000 and 2005, Benoît was appointed CEO of the Qioptiq Group since 2005. An alumnus of the Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale d’Administration and a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Avancées as well as Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Benoît worked for a number of years with the French Government, including time with the Minister of Defence, and has held a number of senior management positions within Thales.

Appointed as Finance Director of Thales High Tech Optics Group in 2004, Richard was previously the Group Financial Controller of Avimo from 1997 to 2000, being appointed as Group Finance Director thereafter. He is a Chartered Accountant and has held a number of senior finance positions in manufacturing companies, both in the UK and in Singapore.

After an external audit role with KPMG, Anne-Catherine joined The Capgemini Group in 1994, acting first as an Internal Auditor, then as Finance Manager of Capgemini Energy in 1998, Reporting and Consolidation Manager of Capgemini Telecom in 2001 and finally as Finance Controller at Capgemini Corporate level. Anne-Catherine was
appointed Group Financial Controller of Qioptiq  in 2008 and has responsibility for Group Reporting and Consolidation.

Helmut has a doctorate in Production Engineering from Stuttgart University, and has almost twenty years of experience in the optics industry. He worked for Carl Zeiss in Germany from 1985 to 1996 in a number of production roles, before joining HTO as Operations Director in Singapore in 1997.

With over 20 years of legal experience, John Lowe is the Qioptiq Group's General Counsel based at the Group headquarters in Paris. A US citizen, John began his career in Washington DC where he worked in the US diplomatic service as an economic specialist. After tours of duty in Mexico, Washington and Italy, he left the service. He established his own law firm in Italy, which he ran for a number of years. Subsequently, he served in increasingly senior roles in the legal department of a major telecommunications equipment company. He joined Qioptiq in 2006. John speaks fluent Italian, French and Spanish.

Working for Thales High Tech Optics since late 2003, Herve is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole des Mines de Paris. He previously worked for PSA Peugeot Citroen, Schlumberger and Tokheim in purchasing, operations, HR and cost reduction management functions

Having started work as a consultant with Deloitte and Touche, Michel joined Thales in 1991 as Marketing and Strategy Director for Thales Underwater Systems, later moving to the Optronics Business Group. He was worked on a number of acquisitions whilst in Thales, including the purchase of Avimo. He has held his current position since 2001.

Dr. Ludovic Sogno was appointed Group Research and Development Director in 2007, reporting to Hervé Passot, Group Development and Performance Director. Ludovic has an alumni from the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Lyon, France with optics and physics majors. He obtained a PhD in Physics from Orsay University, Paris. In addition to his optics and optronics background with ONERA and Thales, he developed additional expertise in aerospace systems and product cost reductions with the Goorich and Safran Groups. Based at the Qioptiq central office in Paris, Ludovic supervises the Qioptiq Group R&D network.

Patrick gained a first degree in mechanical engineering and subsequently studied optics, economics (Paris Sorbonne) and business administration (INSEAD). He started his career with Thales undertaking both technical and international sales roles in defence electronics including optronics. In 1999 he moved to Aérospatiale Matra which in 2000 was integrated into EADS where Patrick was appointed VP International Sales & Marketing within the Defence & Security Division. Patrick joined Qioptiq mid 2008 as Group VP Sales & Marketing, Defence & Security.

Before being appointed VP Sales & Marketing Civil for the Qioptiq Group in June 2007, Dr. Mario Ledig, was Managing Director of LINOS Photonics GmbH & Co. KG with focus on Sales and Marketing and R&D.

After his graduation as Ph.D. he acquired professional experience as research assistant at the Jena Friedrich-Schiller University and in the R&D sector in private enterprises such as Gsaenger Optoelektronik GmbH & Co. KG where he worked as R&D and Operating manager, and LINOS Photonics GmbH & Co. KG where he started as business division manager.

Following the successful takeover of LINOS in October 2006, Volker's primary role has been to focus on the integration of the LINOS organization into the Qioptiq Group.

In addition, he has responsibility for Qioptiq's Optical Systems Division, which specialises in advanced optical system solutions focused on the strong-growth markets of Information Technology & Communications, Healthcare & Life Sciences and Industrial Manufacturing.

Before being appointed Managing Director of Thales Optics Ltd (UK) in 2003, David was Managing Director of Thales Electro Optics (Singapore) for just over 3 years. David received a Diploma in Business Studies and held several Sales and Marketing and Commercial positions in his early career. He then held a number of General Manager positions mainly in the Optics industry.

TT Chua has worked in the Optics Industry for all his working life. He began his career with Avimo Electro Optics as Mechanical designer in the early 80s. From this position, he assumed operational and R&D roles with Avimo until he joined Leica in 1993. He subsequently rejoined Avimo until the company’s acquisition by Thales in 2002. Chua was appointed Managing Director towards the end of 2003. Thales then divested the business in December 2005 when it became Qioptiq Singapore.

Jim McShane is responsible for Qioptiq Group Export Compliance. A professional with over 28 years of experience in export related legal, regulatory and compliance matters, Jim has expert knowledge of laws and regulations related to the export of defence articles and transfer of sensitive strategic technology. His extensive background and experience in implementing compliance with export laws and regulations of various countries is essential to Qioptiq. He has a comprehensive background in the development and implementation of effective export control processes and procedures.