IPG Photonics Strengthens Management Team to Capitalize on Growth Opportunities

OXFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ: IPGP) today announced three senior management appointments focused on strengthening the Company’s worldwide sales and marketing efforts. Trevor Ness has been promoted to Senior Vice President Worldwide Sales and Marketing and will continue to supervise the Asian operations. Also, David Gray was appointed Vice President – Strategic Development & Systems Solutions; and Yuri Erokhin was appointed Vice President – Strategic Marketing.

“We are strengthening our management team with three experienced professionals who have demonstrated their expertise and success in helping to expand business opportunities and grow sales”

“We are strengthening our management team with three experienced professionals who have demonstrated their expertise and success in helping to expand business opportunities and grow sales,” said Dr. Valentin Gapontsev, IPG Photonics’ Chief Executive Officer. “Trevor Ness has been successful at IPG in establishing strong relationships with OEMs in Asia, as well as improving service and the effectiveness of the sales force there. David Gray has a proven track record of driving rapid growth through organic product development, strategic acquisitions and operational execution. Yuri Erokhin has a strong scientific background that he has applied to the development of sophisticated marketing strategies to identify and secure new business opportunities. We look forward to their combined contributions as we enhance our product portfolio, enter new applications and geographies and generate profitable long-term growth.”

Trevor Ness joined IPG in January 2011 as Vice President - Asian Operations, and successfully managed double digit growth in China, Japan and Korea. Prior to 2011, he served as Director of GSI Precision Technologies China at GSI Group, where he was responsible for all business activity in China, including manufacturing, sales, service and market development. From 1997 until 2005, Ness served in various senior management sales and operations roles in the UK and Asia with GSIL Asia Pacific, Westwind Japan, and Westwind Air Bearings Ltd. Ness earned a BSc in Geology from Imperial College London, an HNC in Production Engineering from Bournemouth University, and an MBA (Technology Management) from The Open University.

David Gray joins IPG from GT Advanced Technologies, where he served in multiple roles, most recently as its Chief Strategy & New Business Officer. Prior to that, he served as a senior M&A advisor to the photonics and electronics markets with Alliant Partners and Broadview. Early in his career, Gray also co-founded Aspect International, Inc., and served as a senior engineer with Raychem in its display products group. David earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Yuri Erokhin joins IPG from Applied Materials/Varian Semiconductor Equipment where he has worked since 2003 and served as Senior Director, Strategic Marketing since 2006. Prior to working at Applied Materials, he was Vice President of Wafer Technology at IBIS Technology Corp. From 1995 to 2000, Erokhin was at Axcelis Technologies Corp., where he was Director of Process Technology. Before that, Erokhin worked as a research scientist at various institutions since 1980. Erokhin earned an M.S. with Honors in Quantum Electronics (Lasers) from the Moscow Physical-Technical Institute and a Ph.D. in Microelectronics Technology from the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.

About IPG Photonics Corporation

IPG Photonics Corporation is the world leader in high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers. Founded in 1990, IPG pioneered the development and commercialization of optical fiber-based lasers for use in diverse applications, primarily materials processing. Fiber lasers have revolutionized the industry by delivering superior performance, reliability and usability at a lower total cost of ownership compared with conventional lasers, allowing end users to increase productivity and decrease operating costs. IPG has its headquarters in Oxford, Massachusetts, and has additional plants and offices throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.ipgphotonics.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Information and statements provided by the Company and its employees, including statements in this press release, that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties. Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, enhancing the Company’s product portfolio, entering new applications and geographies and generating profitable long-term growth. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the strength or weakness of the business conditions in industries and geographic markets that the Company serves, particularly the effect of economic downturns; reduction in customer capital expenditures; potential order cancellations and push-outs and financial and credit market issues; the Company’s ability to penetrate new applications for fiber lasers and increase market share; the rate of acceptance and penetration of IPG’s products; effective management of growth; level of fixed costs from its vertical integration; intellectual property infringement claims and litigation; interruption in supply of key components, including from transportation disruptions from natural and man-made events; manufacturing risks; inventory write-downs; foreign currency fluctuations; competitive factors, including declining average selling prices; building and expanding field service and support operations; uncertainties pertaining to customer orders; demand for products and services; development of markets for the Company's products and services; and other risks identified in the Company's SEC filings. Readers are encouraged to refer to the risk factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K (filed with the SEC on February 27, 2012) and its periodic reports filed with the SEC, as applicable. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to rely on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.