Hawthorn Photonics appoints Dr Simon Bennett

We are pleased to announce that Hawthorn Photonics has appointed Dr Simon Bennett as a Non-Executive Director. Simon brings extensive experience spanning quantum technology, scientific instrumentation, high-tech manufacturing, venture-backed businesses and innovation policy.

Simon is currently Director of the UK Quantum Technology Research Hub in Sensing, Imaging and Timing, led by the University of Birmingham. In this role, he helps to translate emerging quantum technologies into practical applications across sectors including climate, communications, energy, transport and urban development.

A particular focus of his work has been bringing together the organisations developing disruptive technologies, the companies capable of turning them into products and services, and the end users that ultimately benefit from their deployment. This experience closely aligns with our group’s focus on bridging advanced photonics research and commercially deployable technologies.

Commenting on Simon’s appointment, Thomas Clay, Chairman of Hawthorn Photonics, said: “Simon brings a unique combination of scientific, commercial, and strategic experience to the Hawthorn Photonics Board. He understands both the potential of emerging quantum innovations and the practical challenges involved in taking highly specialized technologies from research environments into scalable products and real-world applications. We are very pleased to welcome him to the Board.”

Simon began his career as an electronics engineer at University College London, gaining a first-class BSc and PhD and receiving UCL’s Barlow Prize, before spending a period at Stanford University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. He subsequently co-founded a venture capital-backed Silicon Valley company developing metrology equipment for the semiconductor industry.

His career has since encompassed senior leadership positions across the international scientific instrumentation and technology sectors. He spent ten years with Oxford Instruments, serving as Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director of several businesses focused on instrumentation for industrial applications. He later became Managing Director of QinetiQ’s Sensors and Electronics Division, with responsibility for approximately 1,500 employees and turnover of £150 million.

Before joining the University of Birmingham, Simon was Deputy Director, Strategy and Planning at Innovate UK, where he was closely involved in Innovate UK’s contribution to the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme and served on the programme’s Strategic Advisory Board.

Simon added: “Hawthorn Photonics brings together businesses with technical expertise in areas that are increasingly important to the development of quantum technologies and other advanced optical systems. There is a significant opportunity to turn advances in photonics and quantum science into technologies that deliver tangible benefits for industry and society. Hawthorn’s combination of specialist knowledge, engineering capability, and international reach provides a strong platform from which to contribute to that transition. I am delighted to join the Hawthorn team and look forward to making a genuine contribution.”

Hawthorn Photonics brings together specialist companies with expertise across advanced photonics, from non-linear optical materials and frequency conversion to electro-optic modulation, laser systems and tunable light sources.

Our group includes AdvR Inc. in Bozeman, Montana; Covesion in Southampton, UK; and Radiantis in Barcelona, Spain. Together, we combine our complementary technologies and expertise to provide advanced photonics solutions for quantum science, sensing, communications, industrial systems and next-generation optical applications.

Simon’s appointment as Non-Executive Director forms part of our group’s continued development, bringing additional experience to the Hawthorn Photonics Board in technology commercialisation, strategic growth and the translation of emerging science into industrial applications.