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primarysourced Photonics sector Coherent
COHR
~6 min read · 1,436 words ·updated 2026-04-29 · confidence 50%

Leadership

The June 2024 CEO transition is the single most consequential governance event of the post-rename era. After 20 years at the company (the last 8 as CEO), Dr. Vincent D. “Chuck” Mattera Jr. retired and was succeeded by James R. (“Jim”) Anderson on June 3, 2024. The board separated the Chair and CEO roles in connection with the transition: Lead Independent Director Enrico DiGirolamo was elevated to non-executive Chair. Anderson was the architect of the Lattice Semiconductor 10× re-rate during 2018–2024 and brought a familiar CFO with him — Sherri Luther (appointed CFO Oct 11, 2024), who had been Lattice CFO and, notably, spent 16 years at legacy Coherent, Inc. (the 1966 Palo Alto company that II-VI acquired in 2022) before that. Luther’s prior tenure at the acquired entity is an institutional bridge worth flagging — she returns to a renamed combined company that includes her former employer.

Executive officers (as of April 29, 2026)

Source: Coherent Corp. corporate leadership page (https://www.coherent.com/company/leadership).

NameTitleStartBackgroundConfidence
Jim AndersonChief Executive Officer; DirectorJun 3, 2024Lattice Semiconductor (CEO 2018–2024); AMD (SVP/GM Computing & Graphics); earlier Intel, Broadcom (Avago), LSI Corp. MSEE Purdue, MSEE/MBA MIT.✓
Sherri LutherChief Financial OfficerOct 11, 2024Lattice Semiconductor (CFO 2019–2024); 16 years at legacy Coherent, Inc. through Corporate VP, Finance.✓
Rob BeardChief Strategy and Legal Affairs Officer—Listed on current leadership page◐
Christopher DormanEVP, Industrial—Listed on current leadership page◐
Julie Sheridan EngEVP, Optical Components and CTO—Listed on current leadership page◐
Grace LeeChief People Officer—Listed on current leadership page◐
Beck MasonEVP, Semiconductor Devices—Listed on current leadership page◐
Ilaria MocciaroChief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller—Listed on current leadership page◐
Mark NelsonChief Commercial Officer—Listed on current leadership page◐
Jeff PlaceChief Supply Chain Officer—Listed on current leadership page◐
Cristina RodriguezEVP, Communications—Listed on current leadership page◐
Lee XuEVP, Datacenter—Listed on current leadership page◐

Note: “Communications” in Cristina Rodriguez’s title refers to the Communications operating segment — i.e., the InP/transceiver/datacom + telecom merchant business inherited from Finisar — not corporate communications/PR. This is the load-bearing photonics segment.

Jim Anderson — extended profile

Tenure summary: Anderson joined Coherent on June 3, 2024 as CEO and director. The board approved a multi-component compensation package widely reported (regional press) at ~$48M in equity awards, structured to align with multi-year shareholder-return milestones. He was also appointed to the board of Applied Materials, Inc. in July 2025.

Career sequence (in reverse chronology):

YearsRoleCompany
2024–presentCEO; DirectorCoherent Corp.
2018–2024President & CEO; DirectorLattice Semiconductor — drove ~10× equity re-rate over 6-year tenure
~2015–2018SVP & GM, Computing & Graphics Business GroupAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD)
EarlierGeneral-management, engineering, sales, marketing, and corporate-strategy rolesIntel; Broadcom (formerly Avago Technologies); LSI Corporation

Education: MS Electrical Engineering, Purdue University; MS Electrical Engineering & Computer Science + MBA, MIT.

Brief correction: the seed brief stated Anderson was “previously Lattice Semiconductor CEO; before that AMD; before that Intersil.” Primary-source coverage of his appointment (Coherent press release; semiconductor-today; optics.org) lists Intel / Broadcom / LSI Corporation in the earlier-career bucket — no mention of Intersil in any primary source. The Intersil claim does not appear verifiable. ⚠

Board of directors (current roster, post-transition)

Source: https://www.coherent.com/company/board-of-directors. Committee assignments are not exposed on the public board page; consult the most recent DEF 14A (2025 Proxy Statement) for committee detail.

#NamePrincipal occupation / backgroundRole
1Enrico DiGirolamoSenior advisor to technology, manufacturing, and PE firms; retired CFO/SVP, CovisintChair (independent); Lead Independent Director until June 2024
2Jim AndersonCEO, Coherent Corp.; previously CEO Lattice SemiconductorDirector (executive)
3Joseph J. CorasantiRetired President, CEO and Director, CONMED CorporationDirector
4Michael L. DreyerDirector, F5 Networks; former director, Finisar Corporation; retired COO, Silicon Valley BankDirector — former Finisar legacy
5Patricia HatterPresident & COO, OpseraDirector
6David MotleyGeneral Partner, BTN VenturesDirector
7Lisa Neal-GravesCEO, Aurora Wellness CommunityDirector
8Steve PagliucaChairman, CEO and founder, PagsGroup; principal owner / co-chairman, Atalanta BC; Senior Advisor, Bain CapitalDirector — Bain Capital connection
9Elizabeth A. PatrickFormer SVP & Chief People Officer, Diebold NixdorfDirector
10Dr. Shaker SadasivamCo-founder, President & CEO, Auragent Bioscience; retired President & CEO, SunEdison SemiconductorDirector
11Steve SkaggsPrivate investor; retired SVP, Atmel CorporationDirector
12Michelle SterlingFormer EVP & CHRO, QualcommDirector
13Sandeep VijPrivate investor; retired President & CEO, MIPS TechnologiesDirector
14Dr. Howard H. XiaRetired General Manager, Vodafone China LimitedDirector

Director count: 14 (1 executive + 13 non-executive). The 11-director board defined at the time of the Finisar closing (2019) — including three directors from former Finisar — has expanded post-Coherent integration. Steve Pagliuca’s seat reflects the Bain Capital relationship that originated with the 2021 Series B Convertible Preferred financing for the Coherent Inc. acquisition (see governance).

The seed brief mentioned “Bain Capital + Senator Investment Group” as Series B Mandatory Convertible Preferred holders. Primary-source SEC filings disclose only Bain Capital (via affiliate BCPE Watson (DE) SPV, LP) as the investor — total commitment $2.15B Series B Convertible Preferred (not “Mandatory” Convertible — the Series B is dividend-bearing convertible, 5.00% PIK). No Senator Investment Group involvement is disclosed in the 2021 financing announcements or subsequent 10-K filings reviewed. The Senator claim is unsubstantiated and has been removed from this knowledge base. ⚠

Departed leadership (relevant prior holders)

NameRoleTenureDeparture
Dr. Vincent D. “Chuck” Mattera Jr.Chair & CEO (combined role)CEO 2016–Jun 2024; Chair until Jun 2024; ~20 years total at companyPlanned retirement; announced Feb 20, 2024; effective at Anderson’s start Jun 3, 2024
Francis (“Fran”) J. KramerPresident & CEO (predecessor to Mattera)~2007–2016Retired
Dr. Carl J. JohnsonCo-founder, first CEO, longtime ChairCEO ~1985–2007; Chair through ~2010Retired from day-to-day operations May 2010; remained Chair into 2010s

Note on the seed brief: the brief listed “Vincent D. Mattera Jr. and Chuck Mattera CEO eras” as if these were two separate CEOs. They are the same individual — Dr. Vincent D. (“Chuck”) Mattera Jr. uses “Chuck” as a personal nickname; both forms appear in primary-source press releases (the company has used both “Vincent D. Mattera, Jr.” and “Chuck Mattera” in different communications). This single-person disambiguation has been corrected throughout the KB.

Cross-references

Sources