“European Supply Chain for Silicon Photonics“

Date:
Tuesday, September 22th, 2026 – 3 pm to 8pm

Location:
Málaga, Spain

André Lalonde – President, ficonTEST

André Lalonde is a photonics manufacturing and test executive with 25+ years of experience scaling advanced optical technologies from engineering development to high-volume production. His expertise spans wafer-level, chip-level, and module-level test for VCSELs, laser diodes, silicon photonics, and high-performance optical components. He has led the development of automated photonics test platforms and managed global manufacturing ramps and production transfers across Asia and North America, aligning engineering, operations, and supply chains for high-yield, high-throughput deployment.

Philippe Bolle – CEO, Estel

Philippe has been the last 36 years in the telecom industry. He has been working in R&D for industrial application followed by set-up Optilas Belgium in 1992. Company has been acquired by Avnet Memec in 1998. Philippe joined as a majority share holder and create Laser 2000 Benelux/Italy and Nordics specially driven by telecom applications from 1998 up to 2008. In 2008 Philippe has been launching Skylane optics owned 100% based on third party optics producing the optical transceivers in China with Innolight/Eoptolink and linktel. He has been selling his company in 2021 to Halo Technology who has been acquired by Amphenol. He has been setting up Estel in Februay 2024 to bring back sovereignty in Europe for optical transceivers.

Dr. Diana Mojahed – Chief Executive Officer, Lightfinder

Dr. Diana Mojahed is the Founder and CEO of Lightfinder, an MIT spinout focusing on developing advanced chip-based spectroscopy and imaging technologies. Formerly a Postdoctoral Fellow in Professor Juejun (JJ) Hu’s lab at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, she combines cutting-edge research with entrepreneurial vision to push the boundaries of optical technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University, where she developed novel optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging solutions for diagnostic applications. Her research has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), the MIT Kavanaugh Fellowship, and Columbia’s BiomedX Technology Accelerator Program.

Louis-Rafaël Robichaud – CEO, Femtum

Louis-Rafael Robichaud is the CEO of Femtum, where he leads the company’s vision to advance precision laser solutions for next-generation manufacturing and photonics applications. With a strong background in engineering and deep expertise in laser technologies, he brings a combination of technical insight and strategic leadership to the organization. Louis-Rafael is passionate about bridging innovation and commercialization, building strong industry partnerships, and positioning Femtum at the forefront of scalable, high-impact technology solutions.

Dr. Sylwester Latkowski – Scientific Director, Photonic Integration Technology Center (PITC)

Sylwester’s professional activities include an active role in road-mapping initiatives for integrated photonics and microelectronics (IPSR-I and HIR). He is a chair and co-chair of the electronic-photonic test Technical Working Group of the Integrated Photonic Systems Roadmap International, supported by AIM Photonics Academy and Photon Delta ecosystems. Sylwester is representing PITC in the steering committee of the joint European platform for photonic integrated components and circuits, JePPIX. He is a senior member of the IEEE and IEEE Photonics Society and a voting member of the IEEE Standards Association and Photonic Standards Committee.

Oliver Matyssek – Product Manager Optics & Photonics, DELO

Oliver is a Product Manager at DELO Industrial Adhesives, leading the adhesive portfolio development in the optics & photonics division since 2021. In 2023, Oliver spent 10 months in Silicon Valley, where he not only gained first-hand experience of customers photonics integration and advanced packaging needs, but above all translated these into product developments afterwards. His career started at the robotics company KUKA, gaining cross-functional experience in R&D, corporate research, and engineering.

Inigo Artundo – CTO, VLC

Received the M.Sc. in Telecom Engineering at the Universidad Pública de Navarra (Pamplona, Spain) in 2005, and received his Ph.D. on Applied Physics and Photonics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium) in 2009. He holds specializations in Business Financing, Commercial Management and Research, and Strategic Marketing. He has been involved in several national and European research projects and networks of excellence focused on reconfigurable optical interconnects, development of micro-optic devices and photonic integrated circuits, and on flexible access and in-building fiber network architectures. Since 2011 he has been involved in VLC Photonics, and he is currently the CEO. He has worked as a reviewer for several scientific journals and national funding agencies, including being a member of the high-level steering committee set up by the European Commission for the establishment of the Quantum Technologies Flagship program.

MODERATOR (Panel discussion)

Jose Pozo – CTO, OPTICA

Jose Pozo is member of the Executive Board of Optica (former OSA) as the Chief Technology Officer, since 1 March 2022. Originally from Spain, Jose Pozo has spent more than 25 years working in photonics. Before joining Optica, Jose was already well-known in Europe for his role as CTO of EPIC, European Photonics Industry Consortium. During his 6 years as CTO, EPIC grew from 200 to 800 corporate members, was the organization number 21 in Europe receiving funding from the commission in the Horizon 2020 program, and grew from 2 employees to 15. Before that, Jose was a Senior Photonics Technology Consultant with PNO Consultants, with some of the main accounts such as CERN, Thales or TE Connectivity. He has worked at TNO, The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, and as a post-doctoral researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. He earned a PhD in quantum physics from the University of Bristol, UK, and an M.Sc. and B.Eng. in telecom engineering from UPNA, Spain / VUB, Belgium.