Valentin P. Gapontsev, Ph.D., founded IPG in 1990 and has been IPG’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of IPG’s Board since its inception. Prior to that time, he served as senior scientist in laser material physics and head of the laboratory at the Soviet Academy of Science’s Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics in Moscow. He has over thirty years of academic research experience in the fields of solid state laser materials, laser spectroscopy and non-radiative energy transfer between rare earth ions and is the author of many scientific publications and several international patents. Dr. Gapontsev holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. In 2006, he was awarded the Ernst & Young ® Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Industrial Products and Services in New England, and in 2009, he was awarded the Arthur L. Schawlow Award by the Laser Institute of America. Dr. Gapontsev serves as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 2011, he received the Russian Federation National Award in Science and Technology, and he was also selected as a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. He is the founder of the Company and has successfully led the Company and the Board since the Company was formed. His scientific understanding along with his corporate vision and operational knowledge provide strategic guidance to the Company and the Board. For these reasons, he has been nominated to continue serving on the Board.

Robert A. Blair has served as a member of IPG’s Board since September 2000. Since January 1999, Mr. Blair has been the President of the Blair Law Firm P.C. Mr. Blair was a senior partner at the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips from 1995 to 1999. He was the managing partner of the law firm of Anderson, Hibey, Nauheim & Blair from 1981 to 1995. He is a trustee under Winkler Trusts, previously the primary sources of equity for, and owners of, real estate ventures developed by The Mark Winkler Company. Mr. Blair is managing partner of several real estate partnerships, has been a manager/principal in cellular telephone ventures and assisted in the launch of a VoIP business. He is the founding Chairman and Chairman Emeritus of the S Corporation Association of America. Mr. Blair holds a B.A. in Mathematics from the College of William & Mary, where he previously served on its governing Board of Visitors, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He has been nominated to continue serving on the Board because of his extensive management and legal experience and his knowledge of international business transactions and government practice. Also, Mr. Blair has valuable experience from years of serving on compensation committees and negotiating numerous employment arrangements.

Michael C. Child has served as a member of IPG’s Board since September 2000. Since July 1982, Mr. Child has been employed by TA Associates, Inc., a private equity investment firm, where he currently serves as Senior Advisor and prior to January 2011, was Managing Director. Since June 2010, he served on the board of directors of Finisar Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of optical subsystems and components for networks. He previously served as a director of Finisar from 1998 to 2005. Mr. Child holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Davis and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Child has been nominated to continue serving on the Board because of his extensive knowledge of management, operations and finance of technology growth companies. In addition, he has extensive board and committee experience at both public and private companies.

Henry E. Gauthier has served as a member of IPG’s Board since April 2006. Mr. Gauthier was President from February 2005 to May 2005, consultant from January 2004 to February 2005 and June 2005 to December 2006, and Chairman of the board of directors from May 2005 to December 2008, of Reliant Technologies, Inc., which was acquired in December 2008 by Solta Medical, Inc., a manufacturer of medical laser systems and one of IPG’s customers. He served as Vice Chairman of the board of directors of Coherent, Inc., a manufacturer of photonic products, from October 2002 to March 2006. He served as Chairman of the board of directors of Coherent, Inc. from February 1997 to October 2002 and was its President from 1983 to 1996. Since July 1996, Mr. Gauthier has served as a principal at Gauthier Consulting. He was a member of the board of directors of Alara, Inc. from 1997 to 2010. Mr. Gauthier attended the United States Coast Guard Academy, San Jose State University, and the Executive Institute of the Stanford University Graduate Business School. Mr. Gauthier has been nominated to continue serving on the Board because of his extensive knowledge of the laser industry and his management and operational experience from over two decades as an executive at the world’s largest publicly held laser company. Having been a member of the audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees of public and private company boards in the technology field, Mr. Gauthier is familiar with a full range of corporate and board functions.

William S. Hurley has served as a member of IPG’s Board since April 2006. Since April 2006, he has been principal of W. S. Hurley Financial Consulting, which provides supplemental chief financial officer services. From 2002 to April 2006, he was a partner with Tatum LLC, a nationwide executive services and consulting firm. He was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Applied Science & Technology, a developer, manufacturer and supporter of semiconductor capital equipment, from 1999 until 2001. He served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Cybex International, Inc., a designer, manufacturer and distributor of fitness equipment, from 1996 to 1999. From 1992 to 1995, he was Vice President-Controller and Chief Accounting Officer at BBN Corporation, formerly known as Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc., a high technology company. From 1993 to 2004, Mr. Hurley was a member of the board of directors of The L. S. Starrett Company, a manufacturer of precision tooling, where he served on the audit and compensation committees. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Boston College and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, is a certified public accountant, and possesses a Certificate of Director Education issued by the National Association of Corporate Directors. He has been nominated to continue serving on the Board because of the extensive experience he gained during his service on the board of directors of The L. S. Starrett Company and his experience as a chief financial officer of three public companies.

Michael R. Kampfe has served as a member of IPG’s Board since May 2011. Since 2001, he has been an independent consultant advising on general management and strategy matters, sales, tooling and manufacturing processes. From 1984 to 2000, he was employed by GSI Group, a manufacturer of optical, scanning and laser components and system product lines, serving in several management positions as Vice President. His last position was Vice President of Operations. Mr. Kampfe holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona, and he attended the Executive Institute at Stanford University. He has a license in professional engineering. He has been nominated as a director because of his experience in managing and growing laser systems businesses. Mr. Kampfe has been nominated to continue serving on the Board because he has extensive knowledge of managing and growing laser systems businesses. Mr. Kampfe has extensive knowledge of managing complex product lines, laser systems, operations and sales functions, as well as managing and expanding global operations that the Board believes is helpful as the Company implements its growth strategies.

William F. Krupke, Ph.D., has served as a member of IPG’s Board of Directors since February 2001. Since 1999, Dr. Krupke has been president of a laser technology and applications consulting firm (now WFK Lasers, LLC). From 1972 to 1999, Dr. Krupke worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which provides research and development services to various U.S. government departments, serving for the last twenty of such years as Deputy Associate Director of the Laser Programs Directorate. Dr. Krupke holds a B.S. degree in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Krupke has been nominated to continue serving on the Board because of his deep technological knowledge of lasers from over four decades of experience in the fields of solid-state lasers and innovative laser materials. This provides the Board with valuable insight regarding the Company’s products and current technology, as well as the future technological needs of the Company and the laser industry.

John R. Peeler has served as a member of IPG's Board since October 2012. He has been Chief Executive Officer from July 2007 and Chairman of the Board from May 2012 of Veeco Instruments, Inc. a provider of thin film processing equipment and MOCVD, molecular beam epitaxy, ion beam and other advanced thin film technologies. Prior to that time, he was Executive Vice President of JDS Uniphase Corp., a provider of communications test and measurement solutions, and optical products, and President of the Communications Test & Measurement Group of JDSU, which he joined upon the closing of JDSU's merger with Acterna, Inc. in August 2005. Before joining JDSU, Mr. Peeler served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Acterna. Mr. Peeler holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Igor Samartsev has served as Chief Technology Officer since 2011 and has been a member of IPG’s Board since February 2006. Since 2005, he has also served as the Deputy General Manager of IPG’s Russian subsidiary, NTO IRE-Polus. He served as the Technical Director of NTO IRE-Polus from 2000 to April 2005 and, from 1993 to 2001, he was the Deputy Director of NTO IRE-Polus. Mr. Samartsev holds an M.S. in Physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Mr. Samartsev is one of the founders of the Company and has a significant management role in the Company as Chief Technology Officer and as Deputy General Manager of IPG’s Russian subsidiary. The Board values Mr. Samartsev’s understanding of technology developments at the Company as well as IPG’s Russian operations. For these reasons, he has been nominated to continue serving on the Board.

Eugene Scherbakov, Ph.D., has served as the Managing Director of IPG Laser GmbH, IPG’s German subsidiary, since August 2000 and has been a member of IPG’s Board since September 2000. Dr. Scherbakov served as the Technical Director of IPG Laser from 1995 to August 2000. From 1983 to 1995, Dr. Scherbakov was a senior scientist in fiber optics and head of the optical communications laboratory at the General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Science in Moscow. Dr. Scherbakov graduated from the Moscow Physics and Technology Institute with an M.S. in Physics. In addition, Dr. Scherbakov attended the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow, where he received a Ph.D. in Quantum Electronics from its Lebedev Physics Institute and a Dr.Sci. degree in Laser Physics from its General Physics Institute. Dr. Scherbakov has been nominated to continue serving on the Board because of his position as manager of IPG Laser GmbH and because of his extensive technological knowledge of fiber lasers and components and the manufacturing process. His service as an executive officer of the Company provides the Board with a detailed understanding of the Company’s operations.