Luna Names My Chung to Serve as CEO and President

Luna Innovations announced that its Board of Directors has named My E. Chung to serve as the company’s chief executive officer and president, effective as of April 25, 2011. On April 19, 2011, the Board also appointed Chung as a member of the Board, effective immediately.

Chung has served since September 2009 as the senior vice president of worldwide sales for Sunrise Telecom, a publicly held provider of communications test and measurement solutions for telecom, cable, and wireless networks. Prior to joining Sunrise Telecom, Chung served as president and CEO of Circadiant Systems, Inc., a provider of optical test systems to optical component developers, network equipment manufacturers, and telecom service providers. He was instrumental in the sale of Circadiant to JDS Uniphase Corporation in 2008. Previously, Mr. Chung served as group president of Spirent Communications, where he developed and executed strategies that transformed Spirent into a market leader in the communication test and monitoring industry.

“I am excited to join Luna at such a significant time in its history and I look forward to leading the company’s progress to the next level,” said Chung. “The breadth and depth of technologies and capabilities that already exist within the company make this a wonderful opportunity. My goals will be to capitalize on these existing strengths and drive growth where we already have substantial commercial revenues and bring other technologies closer to commercial success.”

Chung’s appointment followed a comprehensive search effort.

“Our concerted efforts to find a new CEO has been methodical,” said Richard Roedel, chairman of Luna’s Board of Directors. “Our search process screened a wide range of excellent candidates and, of the candidates interviewed by members of the Board, Mr. Chung’s past success as a president, along with his technological background and team-oriented leadership style, made him our top choice.”

“We are excited and fortunate to have someone with My’s qualifications leading the Luna team,” continued Roedel. “His execution skills, proven leadership abilities and his track record in achieving profitability at complex organizations, with teams of PhDs and multiple business segments, are impressive. As we got to know My, we noted his emphasis on developing internal talent and his natural ability to engage with people, fostering trust and loyalty within the workplace. He is an astute businessman and understands the value of culture and personal integrity in a company’s success.”

Chung begins at Luna on April 25, 2011. He succeeds Dale Messick, who was named interim president and COO in August 2010. Messick served as Luna’s CFO from August 2006 to August 2010 and will return to the role of CFO effective April 25, 2011. Scott Graeff, who added the duties of interim CFO in August 2010, will continue in his current positions of chief commercialization officer and treasurer.

“The Board of Directors commends the quality performance and leadership over the past three quarters by both Dale Messick and Scott Graeff in their interim positions, as well as the entire management team, which maintained the company’s progress during this transition period,” said Roedel. “We feel confident that My Chung will complement and lead the Luna executive team and company into a new stage of growth.”