Emcore Corp, which makes compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the fiber-optics market, has named Jeffrey Rittichier as CEO. He succeeds Dr Hong Hou, who has served as president & CEO since March 2008. Rittichier has also been appointed to the board of directors to fill the vacancy created when Hou steps down as CEO.
As part of the recently completed sale of the Albuquerque-based Space Photovoltaics division (announced on 17 September) to SolAero Technologies Corp (formerly known as Photon Acquisition Corp), an affiliate of private equity firm Veritas Capital, Emcore’s corporate headquarters is now located in Alhambra, CA, USA. Staff based at the former headquarters in Albuquerque, NM will become employees of SolAero in Albuquerque. Rittichier will be based in the new Alhambra headquarters and will formally take on his new position effective 3 January.
Emcore says that Rittichier is a 16-year optical communications veteran with a track record of identifying and realizing optical networking growth opportunities. Accomplishment in the optical components industry include having held the positions of CEO of Xponent Photonics Inc, VP & general manager of Lucent’s Access Business, and VP of marketing at Ortel Corp. Rittichier joins Emcore from NanoStatics, a developer of solutions for the production of high-throughput nanofiber production systems, where he served as CEO.
“He is a great fit for our organization and we expect his experience will help Emcore take full advantage of its industry-leading position while turning Emcore into a profitable company,” believes co-chairman Dr Gerald Fine.
Rittichier has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University. He was awarded the title of Distinguished Alumnus by Ohio State University's College of Engineering in 2011, and has completed the Financial Management Program at Stanford University.
In conjunction with the closing of the divestiture of the Space Photovoltaics business and the announced sale of its Telecom business unit, Emcore is reducing its corporate expenses, due to its smaller scale, to focus on being EBITDA break-even by September 2015.
In addition, general counsel & corporate secretary Alfredo Gomez is scheduled to leave the firm on or about 13 February. Gomez joined Emcore in September 2007 and has managed the legal and compliance affairs. Also, chief administration officer Monica Van Berkel will leave the firm effective 2 January. She joined Emcore in May and has been responsible for driving the strategic direction of the human resources and information technology functions. Chief financial officer Mark Weinswig will remain with Emcore.
