Sales

Vice President
Sales & Marketing
Dr. Thomas Renner

With a background in ultrashort laser development and applications in physical chemistry (PhD under Prof. Bräuchle, University of Munich), Dr. Thomas Renner has earned his first commercial merits at Baasel Lasertech, where he started as group leader in R & D. He was promoted to the head of the Innovation and Marketing department and developed various markets for the laser micro processing department of Rofin. Dr. Thomas Renner joined TOPTICA in 2005 and has since then left his strong mark in TOPTICAs market approach.

Director Scientific Sales
Dr. Jürgen Stuhler

Phone +49 89 85837 116
juergen.stuhler (at) toptica.com

With the experience and reputation of being a part of the research community for more than 12 years (> 25 reviewed articles), first in Konstanz and then in Firenze and finally at the lecturer level in Stuttgart as atom optics group leader with Prof. T. Pfau, Stuttgart, Dr. Jürgen Stuhler has the background needed to consult and assist not only with the selection of the right laser for your experiment, but also to take a look at the greater picture.

Director OEM Sales
Dr. Manfred Karlowatz

Phone +49 89 85837 114
manfred.karlowatz (at) toptica.com

With his deep knowledge in laser applications, analytical instrumentation and spectroscopy Dr. Manfred Karlowatz is a perfect fit for TOPTICA’s sales team. He received his PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology followed by positions in sales and sales management for TuiLaser AG and later Coherent GmbH. Having joined TOPTICA as OEM sales manager in 2008, Manfred adds profound knowledge and expertise for industrial business to our team.

Senior Sales Manager Ultrafast
Dr. Thomas Hellerer

Phone +49 89 85837 184
thomas.hellerer (at) toptica.com

Thomas Hellerer received his PhD on CARS microscopy from the University of Munich (group of Prof. Zumbusch). Afterwards he joined the Swedish Biophysical Imaging Centre located at the Chalmers University of Gothenburg. There the Leopoldina fellow studied fat metabolism in living organisms during his postdoctoral stay.

Sales Manager Scientific and Wavelength Meters
Germany and Northern Europe

Nils Hommerstad

Phone +49 89 85837 158
nils.hommerstad (at) toptica.com

Nils Hommerstad holds a diploma degree in physics from the University of Mainz. In the group around Herwig Ott in collaboration with Prof. Immanuel Bloch he earned experience in the field of ultracold quantum gases. After being technical sales engineer at Coherent he joined TOPTICA in 2008 as the specialist for grating stabilized diode lasers, photonicals and wavelength meters.

Sales Manager Scientific
Austria, Switzerland, Eastern and Southern Europe

Dr. Jan Schäfer

Phone +49 89 85837 187
jan.schaefer (at) toptica.com

He obtained his PhD in physics from the University of Erlangen / Max Planck Institute of Light. During his university career, Jan Schäfer has performed experimental research on quantum dot micro lasers and ion trapping using different kinds of lasers, e.g. TOPTICA TA-SHG, a frequency doubled tapered amplified tunable diode laser. He is a profound expert in laser physics and laser applications.

Sales Manager OEM
Matthias Peters

Phone +49 89 85837 195
matthias.peters (at) toptica.com

Matthias Peters has a strong background in lasers and instrumentation. In 1991 he started his career at Optilas GmbH as service technician and was soon promoted to service manager. After five years he changed to sales at Optilas, where he was responsible for the OEM business of lasers and optoelectronics. During two years at Leica Microsystems, he acquired in-depth understanding of microscopes and components for industrial applications, before he became European Account Manager at Sony Europe Ltd. At TOPTICA he brings in his profound expertise in industrial business. He is responsible for OEM sales with focus on Europe including all industrial diode lasers as well as ultrafast fiber lasers.

President Toptica Photonics Inc.
Mark A. Tolbert

Phone +1 585.657.6663
mark.tolbert (at) toptica-usa.com

With a strong engineering and management background from the University of Rochester, Mark has a degree in Physics and received his MBA from the Simon School of Business. Mark started his career in plastic optics as Director of Sales and Marketing with Germanow-Simon Corporation. His management interests and skills, brought him then to a leading position first within Burleigh and then with EXFO, where he held the position of Director of Business Development, with particular emphasis on the scientific product lines and international business. At EXFO Burleigh Instruments Mark developed various OEM and R&D markets for the automation, nano-technology and biophotonics markets. Mark Tolbert joined the TOPTICA group in 2006.

Director USA Scientific Laser Sales
Dr. Michael Holmes

Phone +1 585.657.6663
michael.holmes (at) toptica-usa.com

With a background in experimental laser cooling of ultra-cold atoms and molecules, Michael received his PhD in physics from the University of Rochester. At his most recent employer, New Focus, he was the eastern regional sales manager where he was successful at becoming both a partner and a resource to his scientific customers. In his new position, Michael will continue to share his hands on experience to support our scientific customers as we expand our scientific presence in the US.

Director USA OEM Business

Michael Vrooman

Phone +1 585.657.6663
mike.vrooman (at) toptica-usa.com

Mike's background and scientific passion started with electrical engineering and meteorology,
but growing up near one of the world's largest laser manufacturers, it was inevitable that he
would end up in the photonics industry. Fascinated with emerging technology and how to
transform it into beneficial products for society, Mike brings a fresh and knowledgeable view of
customers' requirements. It is this perspective and Mike's personal determination to grow
business that make him an excellent fit for the position of Director of OEM Business.

Western Sales and Application Manager
Rajasundaram Rajasekaran

Phone +1 585.657.6663
raja (at) toptica-usa.com

Raja has an in-depth understanding of various laser applications such as Laser cooling and trapping, Bose-Einstein Condensation, Spectroscopy, Semiconductor Metrology and Interferometry. Working most recently as Product Marketing Specialist for the New Focus Tunable Laser group, Raja worked closely with the scientific market. This experience combined with knowledge on the Tunable Lasers enabled him to successfully create customer relationships and expanding his knowledge on different applications.

Raja’s focus will be remaining close to our important scientific customers as well as our expanding industrial markets on the West Coast, while at the same time expanding TOPTICA’s presence in North America.