Medical device manufacturer Precision Optics announced on Monday it hired Mahesh Lawande as its first COO, effective April 24.
Gardner, Massachusetts-based Precision Optics created the COO position to match the company’s growth in recent years, according to the announcement. The manufacturer saw 47% revenue growth in FY 2022 and a 76% growth in the first half of the current fiscal year.
The company credited its growth to the acquisitions of Ross Optical in 2019 and Lighthouse Imaging in 2021, as well as the commercialization of several pipeline programs.
"With growth comes additional people, roles and operational complexity," Precision Optics CEO Joe Forkey said in a statement. "The timing is appropriate for us to expand our executive leadership team through the creation and appointment of a Chief Operating Officer to further scale our operations going forward."
Lawande brings over 25 years of operational experience to Precision Optics, including a recent role as vice president of manufacturing and operations at medical manufacturer Third Pole Therapeutics.
Lawande has also served various operations and engineering roles at Siemens, Draeger Medical Systems and Analogic Corporation.
"Mahesh has tremendous experience in our key end markets of medical device and aerospace/defense," Forkey said in a statement. "Importantly, his multi-site leadership experience in both manufacturing, as well as quality and test engineering, new product development and introduction makes him an ideal fit for us. We look forward to the benefits his appointment will bring as we look to drive continued growth and profitability in the future."
