AXT appoints Wilson Lin as chief operating officer

AXT Inc of Fremont, CA, USA – which makes gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) substrates and raw materials – has appointed Wilson Lin Ph.D. as chief operating officer, responsible for global operations and reporting to CEO Morris Young.

Lin has a background in operations and business management in the compound semiconductor and related industries.

Before joining AXT, he was director & CEO of General Photonics Corp (a manufacturer of optical polarization modules and instruments) where he reorganized the global sales channels and launched new programs in operations (including six-sigma manufacturing processes).

Previously, Lin held various management positions of increasing responsibility at photonics manufacturer Newport Corp. He joined Newport in December 2006 as director, global supply chain management, where he consolidated the firm’s global supply chain, with a focus on creating efficiencies and reducing material costs. In February 2010, Lin was appointed general manager of China Operations, establishing a China manufacturing facility that employed about 200 people and supplied components and subsystems to tier-one customers in the medical, semiconductor and telecom industries. In January 2013, he was appointed as VP, Asia Pacific, and became responsible for all operations, engineering, marketing, sales and services for Newport in the Asia Pacific region. He initiated and led region-wide changes, including the restructuring of the sales channels, to drive organic growth. Lin and his team achieved wins on critical projects in the region and strengthened relationships with high-level decision makers of key customers.

“Wilson has a solid track record of demonstrating expanding responsibility and achievement,” comments Young. “His business skills and broad experience in China, as well as his deep understanding of single-crystal growth technology, will combine to bring a very positive contribution to AXT,” he adds.

Lin has a Ph.D. in physics from the City University of New York and conducted postdoctoral research at Princeton University. He has published more than 30 technical articles related to crystal growth and the fabrication of compound semiconductors and their applications. Lin also earned an M.B.A. degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a B.S. degree in physics from Chun-Yuan University, Taiwan.