9:00 - 9:45

Welcome & Opening Remarks 

Gisele Bennett,  President, Optica & Founding and Managing Member, MEPSS LLC, USA

Jose Pozo, CTO, Optica & Elizabeth Nolan, CEO, Optica

Reinhard Voelkel, Chair of Optica Corporate Engagement Council

Opening and Welcome

Introduction and objectives of the forum, highlighting the collaborative opportunities within the photonics industry.

Aldo Kamper, CEO, ams OSRAM 

John Morris, CTO, Seagate

Andy Bechtolsheim, Co-Founder & Chief Architect, Arista

Panel Discussion 1

AI Infrastructure

Moderator:

Gregg Bartlett

CTO, GlobalFoundries

Panelists:

• Arne Leinse — CEO, LioniX International
• David Rothenstein — SVP& CSO, Ciena
• Edwin Roks — President & CEO, TTM Technologies
• Ofer Shapiro — Co-founder & CEO, Radyx Ventures
• Johan Feenstra, CEO, SMART Photonics
• Ashkan Seyedi, Director Networking, NVIDIA

The AI compute build-out is pulling demand through the photonics supply chain at a pace the industry has not had to match before. This session examines where optical interconnects are becoming the binding constraint in AI cluster scaling — where copper stops being viable, what the engineering and commercial case is for co-packaged optics, and whether the photonics manufacturing base is positioned to supply at the volumes AI infrastructure requires. Discussion will focus on optical bottleneck dynamics, photonic integration strategies, datacenter architecture evolution, and supply chain readiness. The panel will avoid broad AI trend-setting in favour of a direct examination of what photonics companies must do — and by when — to remain credible suppliers to hyperscale infrastructure.

Panel Discussion 2

Photonics as Semiconductor Technology

Moderator: 

John T.C. Lee

President & CEO, MKS Inc.

Panelists:

• Dave Welch, CEO, Attotude 
• Albert Hasper, CEO, PHIX
• Yves LeMaitre, CEO, Lightwave Logic
• Stefano Concezzi, Corporate VP, ficonTEC
• Hagen Zimer, CEO Laser Technology, TRUMPF
• Pere Perez-Millan, CEO, FYLA
• Paul Meissner, GM Photonics, Applied Materials

Photonics has been described as the next semiconductor industry for the better part of a decade. This panel tests whether that transition is actually happening — and on what terms. The central question is whether photonics can achieve semiconductor-style manufacturing economics: yield, volume, cost structures, and foundry infrastructure.

Discussion will examine wafer-scale production, packaging and process standardisation, and the role of laser technologies and manufacturing equipment — an area many argue has been underweighted in European industrial policy relative to photonic integrated circuits. Paul Meissner joins from Applied Materials, which is actively developing photonic manufacturing processes including waveguides and turning mirror integration. The panel will push toward a direct answer on the industrialisation gap rather than restating the opportunity.

Alexey Kovsh, CEO, Alfalume

Panel Discussion 3

Quantum

Moderator: 

Chuck Mattera

Chair & CEO, Avalanche Thinking

Panelists: 

• Jennifer Cable, President, Thorlabs
• Carlos Abellan, CEO, QuSide
• Richard Murray, CEO, ORCA Computing
• TBA

Quantum is no longer a research programme — it is becoming a procurement and investment decision. Several quantum computing and sensing companies are now past the demonstration phase and confronting hard engineering and commercial questions: manufacturability, supply chain, scale economics, and where photonics fits within different quantum architectures. This session brings together platform companies and enabling-technology suppliers to examine near-term commercial reality rather than decade-long roadmaps. Discussion will cover photonics as an enabling layer for quantum networking and sensing, the gap between published timelines and delivered products, and what the recent surge in government investment — including the $2 billion US quantum initiative — means for industrial deployment timelines. The format is designed for honest assessment of where the industry actually stands.

Satish Dhanasekaran, President & CEO, Keysight 

Michael Hurlston, President & CEO, Lumentum

CEO Panel

Moderator: 

Stefan Traeger

Former President & CEO, Jenoptik

Panelists:

Michael Hurlston, President & CEO, Lumentum

Mark Gitin, CEO, IPG Photonics

Carlotta Baumann, CEO, Finetech

John T.C. Lee, President & CEO, MKS 

Aldo Kamper, CEO, ams OSRAM

Holly Hulse, President&CEO, Lightera

Satish Dhanasekaran, President & CEO, Keysight 

The photonics industry is entering a period of capital intensity, geopolitical pressure, and AI-driven demand growth that has no direct precedent. This panel brings together the CEOs of the industry's leading companies for a direct conversation about the strategic decisions shaping the next five years. Topics will include how to allocate capital when demand signals are strong but volatile; the practical realities of the largest manufacturing scale-up cycles these companies have undertaken; how AI is beginning to reshape organisational structure and knowledge work; and how to position a photonics business when competitive dynamics are changing faster than most planning cycles allow. The session is designed as a candid executive exchange, not a highlights reel.

Departure for Evening Reception. 

Registration/welcome coffee

Jose Pozo, CTO, Optica

Reinhard Voelkel, Chair of Optica Corporate Engagement Council

9:10 - 9:35

9:35 - 10:00

Keynote 6

Keynote 7

Holly Hulse, President &CEO, Lightera

Jim Hagesawa, GM Photonics, SENKO

Panel Discussion 4

Supply chain resilience

Moderator: 

Scott Keeney

Co-Founder & CEO, nLIGHT

Panelists: 

• Caroline Boudoux, Co-founder & Co-President, Castor Optics
• Mark Gitin, CEO, IPG Photonics
• Brendan Lafferty, VP, Seagate
• Burkhard Slischka, CEO, ALLOS
• Simon Schwinger, CEO, JAT

The supply chain assurances that circulated after 2020 have not aged well. Component shortages, logistics disruptions, and geopolitical pressure on sourcing have forced photonics companies to reassess manufacturing geography, supplier concentration, and inventory strategy. This panel moves past the standard diversification narrative to examine the economics: what resilience actually costs, where the real single points of failure sit in the photonics supply chain, and how companies are making capital allocation decisions under persistent uncertainty. Discussion will draw on the direct operational experience of manufacturers and systems integrators working across multiple geographies, with a focus on practical decision-making rather than strategic framing.

 Networking & visiting exhibitions.

Panel Discussion 5

Spanish Success Stories in Photonics

Moderator: 

Guillermo Gómez Fontecha

Technical Director, SETT

• Panelists TBA

Spain has developed into a credible location for photonics research, manufacturing, and company formation over the past decade, supported by research infrastructure, targeted industrial policy, and growing private investment. GPEF 2026 takes place in Málaga — the city at the centre of Andalusia's technology growth story — and this session examines what the Spanish photonics ecosystem has built and where it is heading. Panelists will discuss the conditions that have allowed Spanish photonics companies and institutions to compete internationally, and what the country's trajectory offers for companies considering R&D investment or operational expansion in Southern Europe.

Panel Discussion 6

Geopolitics, Supply Chains & Global Representation
Moderator: 

Marisa Edmund

Chairman & CEO, Edmund Optics 

Panelists:

• Jason Wildt, Head of Photonics, Jabil
• Nicolas Niedhart, CEO, Leister Group
• Ross Goodman, Director, CENN
• Joseph Spilman, CEO, Optimax 
• Stephen Fantone, President, Optikos - acquired by Artemis

Manufacturing geography has become a strategic variable. Export controls, tariffs, domestic content requirements, and the rapid shift of electronics supply chains away from single-country concentration are forcing photonics companies to make decisions that would have seemed politically motivated five years ago. This panel examines how senior executives are navigating those pressures — sourcing decisions, compliance obligations, logistics intelligence, and the practical question of where to manufacture and for which customers. Discussion will draw on the experience of companies operating global supply chains across North America, Europe, and Asia, and will address the forward view: what current trade and customs data indicates about the rest of 2026 and into 2027, and what compliance evolution means for companies shipping across regulated borders.

Closing Keynote

Closing Session:

Strategic Outlook & GPEF 2027 Announcement

Michael Lebby, CEO, Genus Technik

Felipe Romera, Director, Malaga TechPark 

Jose Pozo, CTO, Optica