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Optimax, the largest precision optics manufacturer in the United States, has announced the appointment of Joseph Spilman as CEO and Pete Kupinski as president. With a solid succession plan in place, Optimax CEO Rick Plympton will join president and founder Mike Mandina in retirement. Mandina stepped down in 2021 and passed the president title to Spilman, strategically positioning him for the role of CEO. Plympton and Mandina will each assume the title of corporate fellow.
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Optimax employs nearly 500 employees in Rochester and serves customers and industries worldwide. Also part of the succession plan, the company has operated since 2020 under a perpetual purpose trust that stipulates all employees share in the profit, the company cannot be sold, and leadership must pursue cutting-edge solutions for industry. Operating long-term and independently has been appreciated by customers, enabling them to grow alongside Optimax.
2024 Milestones
Optimax’s achievements in 2024 include launching Starris: Optimax Space Systems; expanding cleanroom assembly facilities; and collaboratively developing and licensing a monolith telescope technology with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Continually innovating, the company has robust plans for expansion in advanced manufacturing and optical systems in markets spanning space exploration and astronomy, semiconductor, defense, and medical.
“I believe the management team Rick and I are handing the keys to is one of the best management teams in the industry,” Mandina said. “We have worked with them over a dozen years, shoulder to shoulder. And after visiting hundreds of companies, this team is exceptionally qualified to lead this company to its future. I trust them completely.”
Spilman has worked in the optics and photonics industry for 20 years. His previous roles include director of sales and marketing at Optimax, serving on the executive team at ArmorLine Corp., and roles supporting NIR and IR laser optics applications for II-VI Inc. (Coherent). Spilman holds a bachelor’s degree in optics from the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics and an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology’s Saunders College of Business.
Enabling customer success and employee prosperity
“I am proud to foster our company mission, which is to enable customer success and employee prosperity,” Spilman said. “Rick and Mike have set us up with a resilient business model and an immensely successful company, and I am honored to further their legacy. Considering the Optimax Trust, our talent, our team, and our offerings, Optimax has an incredibly bright future.”
Similar to how Plympton and Mandina shared management of the company, the new CEO and president will split duties — with Spilman focusing on market strategy and Kupinski on operations. The Optimax C-suite also includes CFO Tom Starin and CTO Mike Hyman.
Optimax: Striving to be best possible place to work
Kupinski has served as Optimax’s chief operating officer and director of engineering. He has worked with Optimax for 13 years, with previous positions with Sony, at Kodak working on the James Webb Space Telescope, and in the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester (UR). He holds an MBA from UR’s Simon School of Business and a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from Alfred University.
“Optimax strives to be the best possible place to work, offering interesting technical challenges, job security, and the opportunity for career growth,” said Kupinski, who was an Optimax customer before joining the company, drawn to the culture. “I’ve never worked with so many good people under one roof. What’s most important to me, as well as the Optimax board, is taking care of our employees.”
In the Rochester region, many know the folklore of Optimax starting in a barn 33 years ago, with older used equipment and innovative new CNC machines that provided more reliable optics manufacturing. Revered as successful business leaders locally and nationally, Plympton’s and Mandina’s honors include induction into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame in 2018.
