Andrew Forbes Named Editor-in-Chief of APL Photonics: People In the News: 11/19/25

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 19, 2025 — Luminar appointed Thomas Beaudoin CFO, following the departure of former CFO Thomas Fenimore last week. Beaudoin has more than four decades of finance and operational leadership across public and private companies, particularly in the automotive industry. He served as CFO of Cerence Inc. from May 2022 to March 2024, and previously held senior and operational roles at Qualifacts Systems Inc., Credible Inc., and Nuance. Additionally, Luminar appointed Patricia Ferrari and Elizabeth Abrams to its board of directors. Ferrari and Abrams bring together experience in banking, finance, restructuring, advisory, and leadership.

Andrew Forbes. Courtesy of AIP Publishing.

MELVILLE, N.Y. — AIP Publishing named Andrew Forbes editor-in-chief of APL Photonics, Forbes is a distinguished professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He founded the Structured Light Laboratory at the University in 2015 and has played a central role in advancing photonics research and infrastructure across Africa. Forbes is a Fellow of SPIE, Optica, PIERS, and the South African Institute of Physics, and an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — MaxLinear, a company that designs and manufactures integrated circuits, appointed Aldo Gutierrez product line manager for data center connectivity. Gutierrez previously held roles at EXFO, serving in several executive roles, including as business development manager. Through his new role at MaxLinear, he aims to contribute to the advancement and streamlining of 1.6-T technology that will power AI fabric and data center innovation.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — IonQ appointed Mihir Bhaskar as senior vice president of global R&D at IonQ. This follows IonQ’s acquisition of Lightsynq earlier this year, of which Bhaskar was founder and CEO. He has also held senior roles at Amazon Web Services. IonQ additionally appointed Chris Ballance president of quantum computing. Ballance was the co-founder and CEO of Oxford Ionics, which was acquired by IonQ in June.

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Mojo Vision, a micro-LED platform company, appointed Anthony Yu to its advisory board. This follows the news of Mojo’s recent $75 million funding round. Yu has expertise in silicon photonics manufacturing, and served as vice president of computing and wired infrastructure in GlobalFoundries' silicon photonics business. He is also a strategic advisor at NLM Photonics.

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Published: November 2025