Leadership

Scott Keeney co-founded nLIGHT in 2000 and has served as the company’s chief executive officer since its inception. Scott also serves as the company’s chairman of the board of directors. Scott has been named as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Technology in the Pacific Northwest and recognized with the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network.

Before founding nLIGHT, Scott served as CEO of Aculight, later acquired by Lockheed Martin Corporation and previously was a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Scott founded nConnect, a 501(3)c non-profit organization that promotes enhanced STEM education in K-12 schools by connecting mentors from local technology companies with students and teachers.

Scott holds a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Washington and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Joseph Corso joined nLIGHT in 2020 and serves as the company’s chief financial officer.

Prior to joining nLIGHT, Joe served as global co-head of electronics and industrial technology investment banking at Stifel, a full-service investment banking firm. Prior to that, he worked as an investment banker at Thomas Weisel Partners, which was acquired by Stifel in 2010.

Joe holds a B.A. degree in economics from Swarthmore College.

Robert Martinsen joined nLIGHT in 2004 and serves as the company’s chief technology officer.

Prior to joining nLIGHT, Rob was the director of product development for the semiconductor business unit of Coherent, Inc. and the director of product design at Novalux LED Ltd.

Rob received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in marine engineering from the State University of New York Maritime College, a Master of Engineering degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia and a S.M. degree in ocean engineering and electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Chris Schechter joined nLIGHT in 2022 and serves as the company’s chief operating officer.

Previously, Chris served as Vice President of Operations for the Aerospace and Defense segment of Celestica. Prior roles included VP/GM at Zodiac Seats and at StandardAero, Manufacturing Integration Leader for the Parker Hannifin acquisition of Clarcor Filtration as well as Director level roles in Product Development, Operations Management and Operational Excellence / Lean6Sigma for Axcelis Technologies.

Chris received a B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Julie Dimmick joined nLIGHT in 2021 and serves as a vice president and as the company’s general counsel.

Before joining nLIGHT, Julie was senior counsel at AeroVironment, Inc., general counsel at GE Homeland Protection, Inc., and served as a special advisor to Secretary Tom Ridge at the US Department of Homeland Security.

Julie received a B.S. in International Politics from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law.

Kerry Hill joined nLIGHT in 2012 and serves as a vice president.

Prior to joining nLIGHT, Kerry was a division controller at Mentor Graphics Corporation. Previous roles include controller for SUMCO, a Sumitomo Mitsubishi wafer manufacturer, and senior finance positions at Xilinx, Inc.

Ms. Hill is a licensed C.P.A. in the State of California. She received a B.A. in finance from the University of Notre Dame, an M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A. from the University of Santa Clara.

Matthew Randall joined nLIGHT in 2007 and serves as a vice president and general manager.

Previously, Matthew was a field sales engineer and account manager at Avago Technologies, now owned by Broadcom. Prior to that, he served as project manager and integrated circuit design engineer for Agilent Technologies.

Matthew holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the University of Denver.

Michael O’Connor joined nLIGHT in 2016 and serves as a vice president and general manager.

Previously, Michael served as director of advanced business development at IPG Photonics and director of business development and senior development engineer at Nufern Corporation. He also worked at Lucent Technologies as both director of manufacturing and engineering manager for a specialty optical fiber division, formerly Spectra Corporation.

Michael holds a B.S. degree in physics and a M.S. degree in geophysics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Michael served in the U.S. Army Special Forces from 1984 to 1990.