07 Jul Frank Lison appointed CTO at Toptica
Effective October 1, 2026, Dr. Frank Lison will succeed company founder Dr. Wilhelm Kaenders as CTO and member of the executive board of the Toptica Photonics Group. According to the company, Lison has held various positions at Toptica since 2002 and has served as founding managing director of Toptica Projects since 2016. From 2002 to 2010, the physicist led the expansion of the company’s R&D activities as Vice President Research & Development. Following Toptica’s acquisition of Till Photonics in 2009, he served as managing director until the company was later sold to FEI Munich, after which he returned to the Toptica Group.
As of October 1, 2026, the executive board of Toptica Photonics will consist of Dr. Frank Lison (CTO & President, Executive Board Spokesperson), Dr. Thomas Renner (CSO & President), Dr. Mathias Schindler (COO), and Fabian Uhl (CFO).
Executive board of Toptica Photonics (left to right): Dr. Mathias Schindler (COO), Dr. Thomas Renner (CSO & President), Dr. Frank Lison (CTO & President), and Fabian Uhl (CFO).
Kaenders reflects on the company’s growth
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to found the company together with Thomas Weber in 1998 and help it grow,” says Kaenders. “At the time, we started with a team of five and focused on scientific applications and the optical data storage market. Since 2020, we have doubled both our revenue and our workforce as the Toptica Group.”
Source and image: www.toptica.com
Caption: Effective October 1, 2026, Dr. Wilhelm Kaenders (right) will step down as CTO. Dr. Frank Lison (left) will assume the role of CTO & President of Toptica Photonics.