Peter Fendel

Chief Technology Officer at Thorlabs

Newton, New Jersey, United States

About Peter Fendel

Peter Fendel is Chief Technology Officer at Thorlabs. Location: Newton, New Jersey, United States.

Entrepreneurial technology leader with a Ph.D. in Physics from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (advisor: Nobel Laureate Prof. Theodor W. Hänsch) and 20+ years of experience in photonics, lasers, and quantum technologies. Currently serving as Chief Technology Officer at Thorlabs Inc., where I set the global R&D strategy, oversee product roadmaps, manage the company’s intellectual property portfolio, and drive ROI-focused innovation across the global organization. My career path combines entrepreneurship and corporate leadership: I co-founded an MIT spin-out that was successfully acquired by Thorlabs, built and led Thorlabs’ laser business for 12 years, and now serve as the company’s first-ever CTO. I bring deep technical expertise, proven financial discipline, and a strong track record of aligning R&D with measurable outcomes — from accelerated time-to-market to revenue growth and sustainable competitive advantage. Passionate about building high-performing global teams, strengthening the photonics supply chain, and bridging academia and industry to accelerate the future of optical and quantum technologies.

Skills

  • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
  • Intellectual Property Management
  • Technology Management

Additional experience

  • Director Laser Division

    Thorlabs

    December 2012 – June 2025

Education

  • PhD, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München and Max Planck Institut für Quantenoptik
  • Diplom, University of Essen, Germany