American optical instrument maker will hire Mahesh Lawande as chief Operating officer effective April 24

Precision Optics, a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced optical instruments for the medical/defense industry, has announced the hiring of Mr. Mahesh Lawande as its first Chief Operating Officer. With the appointment, effective April 24, Mahesh Lawande will be responsible for leading Precision Optics' operations team, including sales and marketing, production and engineering activities at its facilities in Massachusetts, Maine and Texas.

As a result of the latest appointment announcement, Precision Optics has created the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the first time in line with the company's pace of growth in recent years. The manufacturer's revenue grew 47 percent in fiscal 2022 and 76 percent in the first half of this fiscal year. The company attributed these increases to the acquisition of Ross Optical in 2019 and Lighthouse Imaging in 2021, as well as commercial production of several potential sales projects.

In a statement, Precision Optics CEO Joe Forkey said, "We have increased Precision Optics to more than five times the size we were a few years ago, including adding two acquisitions. As the business grows, so does the number of people, roles and operational complexity." "It is an appropriate time to expand our executive leadership team through the creation and appointment of a Chief Operating Officer to further scale our future operations."

Mahesh Lawande has more than 25 years of industry operations experience and is a manufacturing industry veteran for the medical device and aerospace/defense industries, most recently serving as Vice President of Manufacturing and Operations at Third Pole Therapeutics, a medical manufacturer. Lawande also previously held various operational and engineering positions at Siemens, Draeger Medical Systems and Analogic Corporation. Through operational excellence and lean manufacturing leadership, he has driven the efficient growth of his companies. He owns the Babson College F.W. A Master of Business Administration degree in Entrepreneurship and strategy from Olin Graduate School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics and telecommunications engineering from Goa University, India.

"Mahesh has extensive experience in key end markets such as medical devices and aerospace/defense," Forkey said in a statement. "More importantly, he has extensive leadership experience in manufacturing, quality and test engineering, and new product development and introduction, and we look forward to his arrival helping drive the company's continued growth and profitability into the future."

About Precision Optics

Precision OpticsFounded in 1982 in Gardner, MA, Precision Opticsis a vertically integrated optics company focused on applying its proprietary microphotonics and 3D imaging technology to the healthcare and defense/aerospace industries by providing services from new product concepts to mass production. The company has also supplied top medical device companies for decades with a wide variety of optical products, including complex intracaval couplers and specialized endoscopes. The company also uses its technical proficiency in microphotonics to enable leading-edge defense/aerospace applications that require the highest quality standards and size, weight and power optimization.

Source: China Electronics News