The designer and manufacturer of optical and photonic products for cloud/AI, networking and industrial applications, Lumentum (NASDAQ: LITE) appoints Michael Hurlston as its new president and CEO and the director of the company, effective February 7. Michael succeeds Alan Lowe, the current president and CEO. However, Alan will continue to serve on Lumentum’s BoD and an advisor.
Michael brings over 30 years of senior leadership experience within the industry. In his last role, he was with Synaptics, Inc. where he served as president and CEO and a member of the board of directors since joining the company in 2019. Prior to this, Michael served as the CEO and a member of the board of Finisar Corporation. He also served as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales and in a variety of management roles at Broadcom Limited during his 17 years with Broadcom and its predecessor corporation.
“We are delighted to welcome Michael as Lumentum’s CEO as we exit a strong first half of our fiscal year,” said Penny Herscher, Chair of Lumentum’s Board of Directors. “We are confident he will help us continue and grow our current strong momentum in our cloud/AI data center strategy and build upon our success in the networking and industrial markets – contributing to an accelerated multiyear growth trajectory. Michael’s global experience, with his combined background in semiconductors and the optical communications industry, and his proven ability to lead through sustained periods of profitable growth, makes him uniquely qualified to lead our company in this specialized segment of the industry, and will enable Lumentum to capitalize on the rapidly evolving global photonics opportunity.”
Michael continued, “On behalf of the Board, I’d like to thank Alan for his unwavering commitment and visionary leadership for the last decade. He has driven strong execution against our long-term growth strategy and positioned us well within the cloud and AI photonics market. We are pleased that he will continue to serve Lumentum as a Director to effect a smooth transition, and look forward to continuing to benefit from his expertise and insights.”
Alan said, “Leading the talented Lumentum team for the past 18 years – first at our predecessor company and then over the last decade as a standalone public company – has been both a privilege and a joy. In that time, our business has undergone tremendous transformation and growth in both existing and new markets. We have intensely focused on serving our customers, invested in market-leading innovation, and entered new markets, and are now on a clear growth trajectory. We have much to be proud of, but as importantly, much to be excited about as we look ahead. I look forward to passing the baton to and supporting Michael in his transition to our new CEO.”
Michael said, “I’m honored to join Lumentum at this meaningful time in its evolution. The Company’s highly differentiated portfolio of foundational photonic technologies and strategically-located manufacturing capabilities coupled with positive demand trends point to the significant opportunities ahead. I’m eager to get to know and work closely with the leadership team to deliver increasing value for shareholders, customers and partners as we continue to enable high-speed, data-intensive connectivity within AI data centers and across global communications networks while driving innovation in the manufacturing and industrial landscape.”
Lumentum also provided preliminary results for the fiscal second quarter of 2025. The company expects net revenue to be approximately $402 million and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.40 to $0.42. These preliminary results are at the high end of, or above, the company’s prior financial guidance of net revenue in the range of $380 million to $400 million and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in the range of $0.30 to $0.40.
As previously announced, Lumentum will report its financial results and will host its earnings call for the fiscal second quarter of 2025 after the market closes on February 6, 2025.
These preliminary unaudited financial results are based on preliminary unaudited information and management’s estimates and are inherently uncertain and subject to revision in connection with the Company’s financial closing procedures and finalization of the Company’s financial statements for its fiscal second quarter 2025. Actual results for the fiscal second quarter of 2025 may differ materially from these preliminary unaudited financial results.