Mr Pelaprat brings photonics industry expertise, with over 30 years of experience establishing, commercialising and scaling laser and semiconductor businesses. As co-founder and former Director of NUBURU - a US-based company recognised as a pioneer in blue GaN lasers for industrial, 3D printing and display - Jean-Michel helped steer the business from start-up to a recognised industry leader. Jean-Michel retired as Director of NUBURU in March 2022 and remains as head of the Advisory Board, as the company merges with Tailwind Acquisition Corp to take the business public. Jean-Michel held positions in photonics businesses, including President and CEO of Vytran, a fiber optics capital equipment company supplying optical communications, fiber lasers, medical devices, sensing and aerospace applications. He led the business to growth and profitability during the 2009-2010 recession and served on the Board of Vytran's sister company, NKT Photonics. Other senior roles include Chair and CEO of Novalux, Inc. a start-up developing red-green-blue (RGB) semiconductor laser sources for the projection display industry, and Director of Nuvonux, a pioneer in infrared high-powered semiconductor lasers for industrial and defence. Prior to Novalux, Jean-Michel spent 13 years at Coherent, Inc. There, his positions included Vice President and General Manager for both Diode-Pumped Solid-State (DPSS) and Laser business and Semiconductor Laser groups with a focus on aggressive organic growth combined with several M&As. He pioneered the DPSS and the Optically Pumped Semiconductor Laser (OPSL) mass-market adoption. He was also the Vice President of Strategic Marketing for the company. He previously served as the Chair of the Corporate Associates committee and as Director of the Optical Society of America.
