Dr. Michael Steigerwald has been appointed the new Co-CEO of the Raith Group with effect from July 1, 2022. In this position, he will strengthen the management team and will then take over as sole successor to the current Raith CEO, Dr. Ralf Jede, after an interim period.
Dr. Michael Steigerwald and Dr. Ralf Jede. Image Credit: Raith Group
Before joining Raith, Dr. Steigerwald held a variety of management positions, most recently as Senior Director Engineering at US-based KLA, a leading manufacturer of wafer and reticle defect inspection systems for semiconductor production; prior to that he had been General Manager, Ion Microscopy Innovation Center, part of the scientific optics company Carl Zeiss in Peabody, USA, and Senior Manager Research & Development at Carl Zeiss NTS in Oberkochen, Germany.
Raith and Dr. Steigerwald already have long-standing connections, with numerous past partnerships and collaborations established between the companies for which Dr. Steigerwald worked and the Dortmund, Germany-based Raith Group, global manufacturer of micro- and nanofabrication systems.
The successful growth strategy in place at the Raith Group is distinguished by a broad portfolio of products in electron beam lithography, focused ion beam nanofabrication, and maskless laser lithography. It will now be further advanced under the new management with great commitment and initiative.
“Over the years, I have encountered many points of contact with Raith in my previous positions,” explains Dr. Steigerwald, and continues, “During this time, I have become thoroughly familiar with the company, its expert and highly motivated employees, and its innovative technologies. I have followed Raith’s extremely positive growth and advancement with enormous admiration and frequently noted the outstanding reputation enjoyed by Raith among its customers and business partners. I am immensely looking forward to taking up my new duties as CEO and to leading Raith into a new chapter of successful growth.”
Dr. Ralf Jede comments, “Our management team, Advisory Board, and company shareholders are all convinced that this step will write the next chapter of Raith’s success story and business philosophy, and will take us on a dynamic continuation of our growth trajectory. We warmly welcome Dr. Michael Steigerwald to our company and look forward to working with him.”