First of all, we still get the leverage of Ajit Manocha's contacts, as a strategic advisor to POET, to help map out POET's footprint in the industry at large.

Secondly, the timing of this new appointment is interesting (re- Indian RFP- that is, if POET did submit a proposal) and it removes any possible conflict of interest between POET and the Indian RFP. So, that being said, it could be part of what POET is doing in lining up its ducks in a row.

From today's NR (Sept. 5, 2017), I've bolded these points of interest that I like:

"Ajit Manocha, who served on the Company's board since July 2014, has resigned from the Board to devote his time to his new position as president and CEO of SEMI, a global industry organization serving the electronics manufacturing supply chain, while remaining engaged with POET as a strategic advisor. Given Ajit's new role, POET will certainly leverage SEMI's outreach in the electronics industry, which also includes photonics.

Jean-Louis currently serves as partner with ARCH Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm with nearly $2 billion under management. Additionally, he also serves as a managing director for YADAIS, a leading consulting firm in the photonics and telecommunications industries, and is a board member of EGIDE SA, which designs, manufactures and sells hermetic packages for the protection and interconnection of several types of electronic and photonic chips.

Prior to his consulting and venture capital engagements, Jean-Louis served as the CEO of Kotura, a worldwide leader in silicon photonics that designed and manufactured CMOS optical components, until he sold the company in 2013 for $82 million to Mellanox. Previous to Kotura, he worked for more than 15 years at Corning Incorporated, a world leader in optical, display and advanced materials technologies, where he held various executive positions including vice president of optical networking components.

Jean-Louis Malinge holds a Masters Degree in Physics from Institut National des Sciences Appliquees in Rennes, France along with an Executive MBA from the MIT Sloan School in Boston.

POET's Executive Chairman, David Lazovsky, commented, "We are pleased to have Jean-Louis Malinge join our board as we pursue exciting new opportunities in integrated photonics. Jean-Louis has extensive executive, technical and operational experience across the photonics and optical industry, with specific experience in transitioning companies from the R&D stage to successful commercial businesses by formulating key strategies and infusing organizations with customer-centric processes. In addition to his strategic and corporate development skills, I believe he will add significant value to the Board's oversight and operational capabilities with his breadth of experience in the photonics industry."

"On behalf of management and the entire board, I would also like to thank Ajit for his years of service to POET. Ajit has been a valuable contributor to our company, and we are very pleased with his recent success as president and CEO of SEMI. We look forward to continuing to work with him as an advisor to the Company. Moreover, we are enthusiastic to simultaneously add Jean-Louis to the Board who brings exceptional and relevant experience that directly complements POET's strategic direction. We look forward to his input and contributions as we aggressively pursue the development and commercialization of our integrated photonics platform." "

I see this NR as proof of POET positioning itself closer to commercialization and creating the opportunites of better monetization of POET's unrealized value into something much more significant. The days of undervalued may soon be behind us forever in my humble viewpoint.

Monolithic