04 Feb 2025
Current Synaptics boss is set to replace the retiring Alan Lowe later this week.
Optics and photonics giant Lumentum is to get a new boss this week, after the Silicon Valley company appointed Michael Hurlston to succeed retiring CEO Alan Lowe.
San Jose-headquartered Lumentum is a key supplier of high-speed optical transceivers for AI data centers, as well as a broad portfolio of other optical communications components, industrial lasers, and 3D sensors.
The company said that Lowe, who has been its president and CEO since 2015 - when Lumentum was spun out of the former lasers division of JDS Uniphase - will continue to serve on its board of directors and as an advisor.
Hurlston joins from his current position as CEO of Synaptics, the Nasdaq-listed provider of wireless connectivity and GPS technologies, but is no stranger to the world of optical communications, having previously served as the CEO of Finisar shortly before it was acquired by II-VI, now Coherent.
Prior to that, Hurlston had been the general manager of Broadcom’s mobile connectivity division, and the University of California, Davis, graduate has previously held positions at Oren Semiconductor, Inc., Avasem, Integrated Circuit Systems, Micro Power Systems, Exar, and IC Works.
AI data center momentum
Penny Herscher, the chair of Lumentum's board of directors, said in a release announcing the leadership switch: “We are delighted to welcome Michael as Lumentum’s CEO as we exit a strong first half of our fiscal year.
“We are confident he will help us continue and grow our current strong momentum in our cloud/AI data center strategy and build upon our success in the networking and industrial markets - contributing to an accelerated multi-year growth trajectory.”
Hurlston will officially take up the CEO position on February 7, the day after Lumentum is scheduled to announce its latest quarterly financial results. He takes over in a period of high demand for Lumentum’s high-speed optical transceiver products in artificial intelligence (AI) data center applications.
Confidence in that business appeared to be shaken last week in response to the sudden emergence and success of China’s DeepSeek AI competitor, with Lumentum among several technology stocks to lose a chunk of their value. However a longer-term view shows that, at around $86, Lumentum’s stock is currently up more than 50 per cent on its price one year ago.
That compares with the August 2015 launch price of just below $20, when the former JDSU business was split into Lumentum and Viavi Solutions.
Business transformation
Since that time, Lumentum has grown with the acquisitions of rival Oclaro in 2018, component maker NeoPhotonics in 2022, and transceiver specialist Cloud Light in 2023. It also experienced huge demand from Apple for optical 3D sensing components, a scenario now being repeated amid the AI data center boom.
However the company also missed out on the acquisition of the laser company Coherent during Lowe’s tenure. A merger deal announced by the two firms in early 2021 prompted a bidding war also involving MKS Instruments that ultimately saw II-VI prevail. When the original agreement was cancelled by Coherent, Lumentum received a termination fee of more than $200 million.
Reflecting on his time in charge of the company Lowe said: “Leading the talented Lumentum team for the past 18 years - first at our predecessor company and then over the last decade as a standalone public company - has been both a privilege and a joy.
“In that time, our business has undergone tremendous transformation and growth in both existing and new markets. We have intensely focused on serving our customers, invested in market-leading innovation, and entered new markets, and are now on a clear growth trajectory.
“We have much to be proud of, but as importantly, much to be excited about as we look ahead. I look forward to passing the baton to and supporting Michael in his transition to our new CEO.”
Hurlston added: “I’m eager to get to know and work closely with the leadership team to deliver increasing value for shareholders, customers and partners as we continue to enable high-speed, data-intensive connectivity within AI data centers and across global communications networks while driving innovation in the manufacturing and industrial landscape.”
• Alongside the CEO transition, Lumentum revealed that its sales in the December quarter would be around $402 million, just above the range it had forecast in November. The full results package will be released after US stock markets close February 6.
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