Rainer made his Ph.D. in experimental physics at the University of Bayreuth in the year 1998 on electro-optical polymers.

In the same year he joined the Central Research Department of Bayer AG. There he developed for 3 years new recording materials for data storage media in collaborations around the globe.

Until 2005 he was leading the forward marketing activities in the Creative Center of Bayer MaterialScience AG. As an outcome a new holographic films department was set up. Rainer helped to build this holography team in his role as new business manager and optics expert. In almost 10 years in holography he filed more than 70 patents and papers.

Since April 2017 Rainer is senior development engineer at Covestro Deutschland AG. He is today the global technical lead for polycarbonates in advanced sensor technology.

Thomas Sommer is currently Sales Manager for fiber optical components and laser devices for Lumentum in Europe. As such he is supporting both telecommunications and 3D sensing related customers. Prior to that, Thomas held different Technical Marketing and Sales positions in the optics industry with companies like Oclaro, Opnext or Mitsubishi Electric. Thomas’ background is Physics and he holds a Diploma in Physics from the University of Karlsruhe.

Hagen Schweitzer, 46 is Senior Manager Optical Design Business Unit Industrial Solutions at Jenoptik. He studied physics at the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena. After the study, he worked for 18 years for LightTrans GmbH as software engineer, optical engineer, technical director and director sales. LightTrans GmbH develops and offers optical design software for laser systems, diffractive optical elements, gratings and illumination systems. 

Hagen Schweitzer is expert in the development of

• Laser systems
• Imaging system 
• Polymer optics and hybrid optics
• Diffractive optics and holography

Dr. Jennifer Ruskowski studied physics at the RWTH Aachen and she was with Fraunhofer IMS during her doctoral study about sensor packaging methods at University Duisburg-Essen. Since 2016 to 2020 she was responsible for the 3D sensor research activities at Fraunhofer IMS. During this time first LiDAR sensors were developed and presented. Today, as Head of Mobility, she promotes autonomous and emissions-free mobility by new sensor solutions.

Since graduating with an engineering degree in Photonics and Optronics systems from the University Paris-Saclay, Benoît has worked as an Application Engineer in optical simulation software at Ansys.

For the last 3 years, he has been involved in numerous projects with automotive, aeronautic and rail transport companies, working on sensor and photonic applications.

Mitch Hourtienne, Senior Director of Business Development for Cepton, has over 20 years of experience launching sensor products within the automotive industry for mission-critical, safety applications. Prior to joining Cepton, Mitch worked for Infineon on their 24 GHz SiGe radar development, helped launch Freescale’s first integrated wireless MEMs tire pressure sensor, and most recently led Sensata’s global sales team taking care of Ford Motor company. Mitch has a B.S.E.E. from Kettering University and an MBA from the College of William & Mary.

Dr. Hassan Moussa joined Valeo in 2018 as head of global LiDAR R&D, he is currently leading the global R&D teams working on platforms and customer projects. Dr. Moussa has more than 25 years of professional experience. Prior to joining Valeo, Dr. Moussa held different managerial positions in engineering, Innovation, technical sales and program management within different tiers ones and OEM.

Dr. Moussa has a PhD in Engineering Physics and Microtechniques, an MPhil in Optics and Microsystems, an MSc in Strategy and Marketing and MSc in Mechatronics. 

Mario Brumm studied physical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences of Lübeck (Germany) and holds a Diploma in Radiology and an MBA from the University of Würzburg. In 2001, he started his career at Ibeo Automobile Sensor GmbH. After the management buy-out, he became co-founder of Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH, a global technology leader for LiDAR sensors and the associated products and software tools. Mario Brumm is also Chairman of the Board of Ibeo USA.

Engineer, innovator and internationally recognized expert in advanced technologies, Frantz has over 21 years of experience in the electronics and automotive sector, with specialized knowledge in automotive, autonomous driving, AI, IoT, and automation applications, in addition to business and product development, applications engineering, global sales, and marketing. A dedicated entrepreneur and philanthropist, he is also co-founder of Groupe 3737, an incubator and innovation center that houses more than 30 companies and start-ups, in addition to offering a framework for ideation to revenue generation.

Frantz joined LeddarTech in September 2017, having previously served as VP and General Manager of the Automotive and Industrial Division of Integrated Device Technology (NASDAQ: IDTI), a California-based company specializing in a broad array of complete mixed-signal solutions. Prior to IDT, Frantz was President and Executive VP of Global Sales and Marketing at ZMDI AG, a global supplier of MEMs-based sensor solutions for automotive and industrial applications, which was acquired by IDT in December 2015. Prior to ZMDI, Frantz was CTO and Corporate VP of Technical Marketing and Advanced Engineering Group at Future Electronics, a global distributor of semiconductors and passive, interconnect, and electromechanical components.

Throughout his career, Frantz has produced numerous patents and technical innovations. He also founded and co-founded many successful start-ups and corporations, the likes of which include SMGT Inc., Q-Links Home Automation, Groupe Reno-Metrix, Capital Plus, and OMNI Global, and sits on several boards and advisory committees.

Frantz holds degrees in electrical engineering, business, and marketing, and is also a graduate of the MIT Sloan Engineering Fellows Program on Innovations and Global Leadership

Raffi is Vice President, Business at Ouster, a leading LIDAR sensor technology company that has developed the world’s most performant, compact, and affordable LIDAR sensors. He joined Ouster from Flagship Ventures, where he was a Principal focused on founding and investing in companies in sustainability. Previously he was President at Midori, a biotech startup with a carbohydrate chemistry and microbiome control technology for human and animal therapeutics. Prior to Midori, Raffi co-developed the first utility-scale solar photovoltaic power plant in East Africa which currently contributes >6% of Rwanda's power capacity & broke the record for fastest African energy project finance deal to achieve commercial operations. He also was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in competitiveness, advanced industries, healthcare, and sustainability and resource productivity. Raffi was the Curator of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community in Boston, and spoke at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos. Raffi holds bachelor's degrees from Stanford University in Economics and Public Policy with Honors.

Filip Geuens (°1970) is CEO of XenomatiX, a Belgium-based company focusing on true-solid-state Lidar.

Filip graduated as a mechatronics engineer at the university of Leuven, Belgium and also holds a master degree in Operations Management of KULeuven.

He spent his entire career in optical metrology.

He started as the 7th employee at a company called Krypton, developing optical Coordinate Measuring Machines. The company was acquired by Metris and Metris was acquired by the Japanese company Nikon, evolving to 70, next 700 and finally to 27.000 employees.

In his previous role he was CTO of Nikon Metrology, one of the 6 business units of Nikon.  That business unit is developing optical 3D inspection systems for quality control in automotive and aerospace.

Early 2015 Filip gave up this position at Nikon.  His past experience in optical systems, automotive business and company upscaling is fully dedicated now to growing XenomatiX.

Anna brings 10 years of experience in the fields of Software Project Management, and Product Management. Prior to joining Innoviz Technologies, Anna served as Head of Professional Services at Startapp, a mobile media and data company, working on creating and integrating products in a large-scale data-driven environment, as well as on implementing Enterprise Quality Management Systems in the pharmaceutical industry.

For 2.5 years, Anna served as an analyst in the Intelligence Corps of Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF). Anna Holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA both from the Tel-Aviv University.

Ralf J. Muenster has over two decades of experience commercializing and growing differentiated high-tech businesses and expanding customer and partnership engagements. Prior to SiLC, Muenster was the director of Texas Instruments' CTO office where he was responsible for identifying and developing impactful new growth vectors and strategic technology partnerships for the company.

Muenster has held various executive roles in the semiconductor industry, including serving as an intrapreneur and business executive at National Semiconductor, Micrel and AMD, where he was head of the automotive market segment. Muenster founded a successful computer start-up company in Germany and was a scientist at the University of California at Berkeley performing research in the photonics field. He holds a master’s degree in physics from the Technical University in Munich. Muenster is a multiple U.S. patent holder.

Dr. Mircea Gradu is the Senior Vice President of Product and Quality at Velodyne Lidar, leading the company’s efforts to design, develop and manufacture world-class products compliant with the international quality standards.

Dr. Gradu is the 2018 President and Chairman of the Board of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, a Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at University of California Irvine (UCI), a member of UCI’s Institute for Transportation Studies Leadership Council and a FISITA Council member (International Federation of the Automotive Engineering Societies).

With over 25 years of experience in the automotive and commercial vehicle industry, Dr. Gradu started his career at Daimler-Benz AG in Stuttgart, Germany, served as Vice President of Transmission Powertrain and Driveline at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and, prior to Velodyne, led Engineering and Quality at Hyundai Motor America.

An SAE Fellow, Dr. Gradu has been awarded 56 patents on mechatronic automotive systems, published over 40 technical papers, was honored with the SAE Edward N. Cole Award for Automotive Engineering Innovation, and listed among the 50 most influential Automotive Executives by Motor Trend, being credited with the revival of the rear-wheel-drive automotive platforms through the introduction of the novel and fuel-efficient transmission solutions. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Stuttgart, Germany, and attended various executive programs at UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business and the Center for Creative Leadership in San Diego.