The founder and longtime leader of Oxford laser manufacturer IPG Photonics, Valentin Gapontsev, has stepped into an executive chairman role, as the company named its chief operating officer as his replacement as CEO.
Eugene Scherbakov, the company’s chief operating officer and managing director of IPG Laser GmbH, senior vice president, Europe and director, took over as CEO on May 4, when the Oxford company first announced the leadership transition.
Gapontsev, in turn, stepped into a new role as executive chairman of the company’s board and is slated to continue involvement in directing research and development and strategy, according to IPG.