John is Chief Executive of the UK Photonics Leadership Group supporting the alignment of policy, industry and research strategy in the £14.5bn UK Photonics industry. John has over 30 years’ experience in the laser and optics. He has developed commercial lasers and components impacting across society, raised venture capital funds, secured substantial trade sales and steered influential policy. John has run his own business development consultancy, Harlin Ltd, since 2006 helping SMEs, Universities, VCs and governments to identify growth opportunities and the impact of photonics at the product, company, national and international level. He provides industrial liaison for the Future Photonics Hub at the Universities of Southampton and Sheffield and advises on European strategy for SPIE as well as sitting on multiple advisory boards. John has also pioneered quantification of the size of the Photonics, Acoustics and Fluid Dynamics industries in the UK and internationally.