Scintil Photonics appoints Jim Theodoras vice president of product development
The company says Theodoras’ expertise will help drive growth and innovation, as it seeks to bring its LEAF Light external laser source for co-packaged optics to volume production
Scintil Photonics has announced it has appointed Jim Theodoras as vice president of product development. The company says this strategic hire comes at a pivotal juncture, as it scales operations to support exponentially increasing volume demands for advanced photonics in AI datacentres.
Theodoras brings to Scintil over 35 years of industry experience in electronics and optics, with skills in project management and strategic partnerships, as well as in the design, qualification and high-volume production of advanced photonic technologies. The company says his deep expertise in optical communications, coupled with his strong relationships with ecosystem partners, equip him with a unique combination of capabilities to drive Scintil’s growth and innovation.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jim to Scintil,” said Matt Crowley, CEO at Scintil Photonics. “As we innovate to address the challenges in the AI datacentre infrastructure, his extensive experience in bringing industry leading photonic products to market makes him the perfect fit. With Jim on board, Scintil is well-positioned to move forward on its next growth phase.”
Theodoras commented: “I am delighted to join Scintil Photonics to help bring LEAF Light, our single-chip, multi-wavelength external laser source for co-packaged optics for AI datacentres to volume production. Scintil’s unique SHIP process, that integrates III-V materials into standard silicon photonics, is poised to disrupt the AI datacentre market and I am excited to be part of Scintil’s mission. I will dedicate my extensive experience and expertise to take Scintil’s visionary photonics technology to market.”
Over the course of his career, Theodoras has held increasingly senior management roles in telecoms and optical networking. He started out in 1987 at Texas Instruments, holding various positions in hardware engineering for 11 years. Following that, he spent 10 years at Cisco, where he led the team responsible for a new Ethernet switch. From 2008 to 2017, he worked for ADVA Optical Networking, first in technical marketing and then as vice president of global business development. After that, he spent six years at transceiver manufacturer HGGenuine as vice president of research and development. There, he launched a full 400G and 800G product line based on both electro-absorption-modulated laser and silicon photonics technology. He most recently served as vice president of engineering at QXP Technologies, where he led passive and active teams at this PLC manufacturer with multiple fabs, factories, and production lines. Theodoras earned an MS in electrical engineering from the University of Texas in 1992 and holds a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Dayton, 1987.
Scintil notes that Theodoras is the latest of several executive appointments it has made during the last 12 months, as it prepares for commercial product launch. Other recent hires include US-based CEO Matt Crowley, who arrived in November 2024, and chief operating officer Olivier Potavin, who joined CTO and founder Sylvie Menezo to support Scintil’s growth and operational scaling.
