Fusion, the university IP commercialisation company that turns university IP into business, is pleased to announce that Seren Photonics Ltd. (“Seren”), a recently formed spin-out company exploiting the high brightness LED processing technology developed by Dr Tao Wang at the University of Sheffield has appointed Dr Godfrey Ainsworth FCA as non-executive Chairman.
Godfrey has extensive knowledge and experience in the compound semiconductor industry having a twenty year relationship with IQE plc, where he has been Chairman since 1999. With a market capitalisation c£80m, IQE is an AIM listed compound semiconductor epitaxial wafer manufacturer with three manufacturing plants in the UK, two in the USA and one in Singapore. IQE has recently increased its focus on nitride based products through the acquisition of NanoGaN from Bath University, UK.
Dr Ainsworth, who was also the founder and Managing Partner of Gambit Corporate Finance, led the acquisition teams which purchased Peters Food Services from Grand Metropolitan and Prestwick Airport from Stagecoach plc. He also advised on the merger of Epitaxial Products Limited and QED Inc to form IQE Plc which was then floated on EASDAQ and a year later on the LSE TechMark. During his time at IQE they have made four further acquisitions making IQE plc the largest ‘pure play’ foundry for compound semiconductor epiwafer manufacture in the world.
Dr Carl Griffiths, Managing Director at Seren Photonics said, “We are thrilled to have someone with Godfrey’s depth of experience heading up the Board. One of Seren Photonics’ key business strategies is to secure license deals with key GaN manufacturers. Having a Chairman with a proven track record at successful, large scale negotiations in this area is a major asset. We look forward to working closely with Godfrey and bringing Seren Photonics’ technology to market.”
Dr Godfrey Ainsworth said, “I have been very impressed with the quality of the IP portfolio and spin-out companies in the Fusion IP Group and Seren has the potential to be a huge success. I am therefore delighted to become Seren’s Chairman at this important time in their development and help drive through the commercialisation process. The solid state lighting sector is about to undergo explosive growth and we believe that Dr Wang and his team has what could be a hugely exciting technology, capable of significantly improving the efficiency of LEDs.”