Contact Information: Contacts: Raymond A. Low Chief Financial Officer (510) 683-5900 Leslie Green Green Communications Consulting, LLC (650) 312-9060
AXT, Inc. Announces Executive Promotions
| Source: AXT, Inc.
FREMONT, CA--(Marketwire - October 29, 2009) - AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ : AXTI ), a leading
manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, today announced three
executive promotions.
Raymond A. Low, formerly AXT's vice president, corporate controller and
acting chief financial officer, has been appointed vice president and chief
financial officer.
Davis Zhang, formerly AXT's president of joint venture operations, has been
appointed president of AXT China Operations, with responsibility for
managing and developing AXT's joint venture operations, as well as
assisting chief executive officer, Dr. Morris Young, with the management of
AXT's manufacturing facilities in China.
Robert G. Ochrym, formerly AXT's vice president of business development,
has been appointed vice president of business development, strategic sales
and marketing. His responsibilities include sales for the North American
East Coast, as well as for Europe, continuing to work closely with John J.
Cerilli, vice president of global sales and marketing, to maximize customer
support around the world. He will also be responsible for developing sales
and marketing strategies, major sale contract negotiations, major market
identification and other strategic sales and marketing functions.
"The Board and I are very pleased to announce the promotions of Davis, Bob
and Raymond," said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "Each of these
individuals has made significant contributions to AXT and I am looking
forward to further leveraging their talents in expanded roles.
"Davis has been instrumental in the success of our joint venture program
and his knowledge of our business and customer needs make this new position
a natural fit. Further, by bringing together two critical functions of
manufacturing and joint venture operations, we can better plan and respond
to the present and future needs of our customers.
"Bob has a wealth of contacts and experience in our industry and we are
excited to leverage his knowledge to further enhance the reach and success
of our sales and marketing efforts. We believe that we have great
opportunities to grow our market share with a number of the customers that
we currently serve as well as with new customers that we do not presently
supply. Further, we are continuing to explore new applications for our
products in wireless devices, LEDs and photovoltaics that expand our
addressable market and provide further opportunity for growth.
"Raymond has a strong financial background and a deep understanding of our
financial structure, which has allowed him to transition smoothly into his
permanent role as our chief financial officer. He is a tremendous asset to
AXT and the Board and I are very pleased to work with him in this new
position," said Young.
Davis Zhang co-founded AXT in 1986. He was formerly AXT's president of
joint venture operations. From 1999 to 2003, Zhang was president of AXT's
substrate division and prior to that, held senior level positions in
production. Zhang studied mechanical engineering at Communication
University, Beijing, China.
Robert G. Ochrym joined AXT as Vice President, Business Development in June
2005. Prior to AXT from 2003 to May 2005, Ochrym was national sales manager
at Aixtron, Inc., where he was responsible for North American sales and
marketing functions. From 1973 to 2003, Mr. Ochrym held various positions
in sales and marketing, business development and product management at
Uniroyal Optoelectronics, Northrop Grumman and Rhone-Poulenc, and had
extensive involvement with rare earths and gallium businesses. He has a
B.A. degree in Biology from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.
Raymond A. Low, formerly AXT's acting chief financial officer, joined the
company as corporate controller in February 2005 and was promoted to vice
president, corporate controller in July 2006. From June 2004 to February
2005, Low was an independent consultant on a Sarbanes Oxley assignment.
From May 2002 to June 2004, he was corporate controller of Therasense, Inc.
(now Abbott Laboratories), a publicly traded manufacturer of blood glucose
monitors. From April 2000 to May 2002, Low was corporate controller of
RStar Networks Inc, a publicly traded internet service provider. From April
1998 to April 2000, he was director of accounting for AT&T. Low spent three
years in public accounting with BDO Seidman in San Francisco, and three
years in public accounting with Deloitte & Touche in South Africa. He is a
California certified public accountant, and a member of the California
Society of CPAs. Low is a past member of the chartered institute of
management accountants in the United Kingdom. He has an M.B.A. degree from
Chadwick University, Alabama, a Bachelor of Accounting Science Honors
degree from the University of South Africa, and a Bachelor of Commerce
degree from Rhodes University, South Africa.
About AXT, Inc.
AXT designs, develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance
compound and single element semiconductor substrates comprising gallium
arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) through its
manufacturing facilities in Beijing, China. In addition, AXT maintains its
sales, administration and customer service functions at its headquarters in
Fremont, California. The company's substrate products are used primarily
in lighting display applications, wireless communications, fiber optic
communications and solar cell. Its vertical gradient freeze (VGF) technique
for manufacturing semiconductor substrates provides significant benefits
over other methods and enabled AXT to become a leading manufacturer of such
substrates. AXT has manufacturing facilities in China and invests in five
joint ventures producing raw materials. For more information, see AXT's
website at http://www.axt.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
The foregoing paragraphs contain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Federal Securities laws, including statements regarding
future growth opportunities available to us, the impact of our customer
qualifications, and our ability to plan and respond to customer
requirements. These forward-looking statements are based upon specific
assumptions that are subject to uncertainties and factors relating to the
company's operations and business environment, which could cause actual
results of the company to differ materially from those expressed or implied
in the forward-looking statements contained in the foregoing discussion.
These uncertainties and factors include but are not limited to overall
conditions in the markets in which the company competes; global financial
conditions and uncertainties, market acceptance and demand for the
company's products; the impact of delays by our customers on the timing of
sales of products; and other factors as set forth in the company's annual
report on Form 10-K and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Each of these factors is difficult to predict and many are
beyond the company's control. The company does not undertake any obligation
to update publicly any forward-looking statement, as a result of new
information or future events.