Our Team
Opsydia emerged from Dynamic Optics and Photonics group, part of the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. We combine decades of world-leading scientific research with extensive and successful industrial experience.
Andrew Rimmer
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Andrew has over 25 years experience in the electronics/technology industry including SME/PE backed companies. He was a member of the leadership team at Irisys, a PE backed start-up which pioneered low cost thermal imaging and people tracking solutions. Andrew is experienced in technology solutions for instrumentation, security, retail, telecare, cleantech and thermal imaging.
Prof. Martin Booth
Founder and Director
Martin is Professor of Optical and Photonic Engineering at the University of Oxford. His research covers various areas of optical microscopy, laser machining and adaptive optics. In particular, his work has centred on the development of adaptive methods for compensation of aberrations in high resolution optical systems and the use of dynamic elements for laser beam shaping and parallelisation. This work has contributed to scientific and industrial applications ranging from biological imaging and neuroscience to quantum optics.
Dr. Patrick Salter
Founder AND Director
Patrick is a Lecturer in the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. With a background in soft matter physics focused on liquid crystal display technology, his research now mainly concerns optical fabrication using ultrashort pulse lasers. The direct laser write processing platform enables high resolution fabrication inside a wide range of transparent materials. Patrick has developed techniques using adaptive optics for aberration correction, parallelisation and beam shaping to enhance the functionality and scalability of the processing.
Jonathan Kendall
Chairman
Jonathan joins us as Chairman, bringing over 35 years experience in marketing, business development and senior general management. He has extensive experience in the diamond industry, namely as President of the De Beers Diamond Institute, Head of Global Marketing and SVP of Sales over a period of almost 20 years. Key achievements included the development and launch of the Key Account Management structure and team ; launching the ‘Diamonds For Good ‘ , Best Practice Principles and Forevermark programmes. He also led the development and initiation of De Beers Group Industry Services and the Institute of Diamonds, offering world-class diamond grading, testing, lab grown detection technology and education services to the diamond industry.
Lewis Fish
Chief Product Officer
Lewis graduated in 2017 from the University of Oxford with an MEng in Engineering Science. Under the supervision of Prof. Martin Booth and Dr. Patrick Salter, his Master’s project focused on the adaptive laser fabrication of holographic structures in glass. Lewis joined the company as our first Engineer at spin-out and now leads the Product Team.
Jacqui Larsson
Sales & Marketing Director
Joining Opsydia as Sales & Marketing Director, Jacqui brings over two decades experience in the diamond and jewellery industry.
A qualified gemmologist (FGA) and diamond specialist (DGA), Jacqui’s training included a five month internship at the DTC (Diamond Trading Company) studying the diamond supply chain, sorting rough and polished diamonds and rough to polished strategy. Jacqui is also a Council Member of the London Diamond Bourse.
Andy Penfold
HEAD OF OPERATIONS
Andy’s career began in the Royal Air Force as an Aircraft Engineer working on the Chinook Helicopter, serving both UK and Overseas. His last decade has been spent working across the aerospace, nuclear and defence sectors leading and supporting teams in design and manufacture of high complexity products, systems, and processes across the globe from inception to full rate production, including in-service support across Manufacturing Engineering, Operations and Quality disciplines.
Leigh Henry
Head of Finance and Administration
Leigh leads our business support activities across Finance, HR and H&S management having joined Opsydia in 2018 and is working towards the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) qualification. Beginning her career in the legal sector after graduation from the University of Southampton, she has worked within different types of businesses including the NHS, local council, the University of Oxford and since 2017 in early-stage tech spinouts.
Matthew Ashdale
Head of Software
Matthew joined us in 2022, bringing over 10 years experience in designing and implementing complex software architectures for hardware systems in both the academic and private sectors.
Heading up Software Engineering here at Opsydia, he is responsible for growing and managing the software team to be capable of solving technical problems effectively and ensuring best practices for application security
Dr. Phil Diggle
Head of Systems Engineering
Starting as a Systems Engineer in early 2023, Phil brought a wealth of knowledge in the diamond growth, crystal defects and optics before transitioning to Head of Systems Engineering mid 2024.
Having been one of the first cohort members of the Diamond Science and Technology CDT, gaining a MSc from Warwick; he then went on to complete his PhD in Physics. In 2018, Phil joined De Beers as a research scientist as part of the consumer confidence team continuing research into diamond growth and defects. Leaving there in 2022, Phil joined Imperial College London as a PDRA to build a hyperspectral and confocal microscope to characterise diamond suitable for quantum-based applications, where he continues as a visiting academic.
Marc Hudson
Mechanical Design Engineer
Marc graduated with a BSc in Computer Aided Mechanical Design from Oxford Brookes university. He has eight years’ experience in the automotive industry working as an electrical technician and parts quality engineer. He also has two years of experience working as a quality engineer for a high-end audio electronics company, producing front of house consoles and studio consoles for audio engineering.
Sarah Griffiths
Materials Control and Procurement Specialist
Sarah started her career in the health and wellness industry, gaining experience in management, marketing and HR and administration. She earned her BSc in 2015, training and then practicing as a Midwife, where showing initiative, responsibility and patience were essential. She brought these qualities to Opsydia as Finance & Office Administrator in 2019, alongside studying for a Diploma in Bookkeeping. Sarah’s role has now progressed to Materials Control and Procurement Specialist within the Production Team, and is responsible for materials purchasing, implementing works order processes and financial reporting.
She also plays a key role in our dedication to health and safety management as a Mental Health First Responder within the company.
Jonathan Pease
Software ENGINEER
Jonathan is a graduate in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford. He specialised in information engineering, machine learning and control theory, and completed a Master’s project studying non-linear feedback control systems. During his degree, he interned at Opsydia before joining the company full-time as a Software Engineer in 2019.
Marta Krüger
DPhil Student
Marta worked with Opsydia on a lab project for her MSc in Diamond Technology at the University of Warwick, before graduating in 2019. Sponsored by Opsydia, she is part of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Diamond Science and Technology and her DPhil work is focused on laser written components in diamond for the development of new sensors and sensing applications.
Joseph Dixon
Systems Engineer
Joseph graduated from the University of Oxford in 2021 with a Master’s degree in Physics. During his time there he built a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor for adaptively correcting wavefront aberrations. As his Master’s project he built a radio telescope and used it to observe the spiral arms of the galaxy. Joseph joined Opsydia in September 2021 after a successful internship the previous summer.
Naresh Ratnala
Mechanical Design Engineer
Naresh joined us in 2022, bringing over 10 years of experience in design for electromechanical and optomechanical products.
As a Mechanical Design Engineer, Naresh works collaboratively with the systems and software engineering teams; responsible for the architecture and design of mechanical systems for our precision laser fabrication and gemstone viewer solutions. This includes leading and undertaking the core product mechanical design, working with external design houses and maintaining the documentation processes, controls, and best practices for sustainable development.
Craig Wall
Senior Production Technician
Craig graduated from The University Of West London in 2018 with an MSc in Digital Audio Engineering. Since then he has worked in R&D for the Pro Audio Industry, and enjoys playing music in his spare time. He joined the company in 2022, and is responsible for optimising production output and contributing to electrical design.
George Gayton
SOFTWARE Engineer
George joined Opsydia in 2022 after graduating from the University of Nottingham where, sponsored by MTC, he was part of the Centre for Doctoral Training. During his time there, he built and coded a fringe projection system and worked on the traceability of measurement systems based on machine vision. As a Software Engineer here at Opsydia, he is part of the development team whose focus is building bespoke control software for our industrial laser systems. This involves integrating and controlling high-precision hardware components, developing algorithms employing computer vision and neural networks, and deploying secure computer architectures
Thoko Stott
Office Manager
Thoko joined us as an Office Adminstrator in November 2022 after more than a decade’s worth of management experience in the events and hospitality industry. Now as Office Manager, she provides essential support for the efficient running of core administrative functions including HR, finance, logistics, health & safety and team support within Opsydia
James Patchett
SYSTEMS ENGINEER
James joined Opsydia in 2023 after completing his PhD in physics at the University of Cambridge. Previously, he worked in microelectronics research, where he investigated the coupling of magnetic and electronic phenomena in micron sized devices. As a Systems Engineer here, he develops new fabrication capabilities using Opsydia’s laser technology, and works with clients to create new products and solutions.
Yuen Cheung
Field Service Engineer
Yuen joined us in early 2023, bringing with him over 20 years experience leading teams across the UK and Europe with customer management and operations in the power industry; supporting scientific and pharmaceutical sectors including the NHS. At Opsydia, Yuen is responsible for the installation, commissioning and maintenance of all deployed systems in the field. Being the first point of contact for any troubleshooting and the internal coordinator for customer relationship management and technical support.
Munya Ziyenge
SYSTEMS Engineer
Munya joined us in 2023 bringing over 10 years’ experience of research, design and engineering of laser micro machining systems. Holding an MSc in Physics, his knowledge spans from laser process development and optics to sub-system integration.
As a Systems Engineer here, Munya contributes to the early-stage research and development of our systems along with supporting commissioning of our laser systems deployed worldwide.
Luke Parker
Field Service Engineer
Luke joined Opsydia in 2023, bringing across experience from varied engineering sectors including oil, gas and robotics. Having worked as an international Field Service Engineer in micro machining, he’s worked closely with Harvard universities and MIT to create and implement novel laser solutions. As part of our service team Luke is the first point of contact for customers; being responsible for the installation, commissioning and maintenance of our systems deployed worldwide
Ajay Varghese
Product Development Engineer
Ajay joined us in 2023 as an intern after completing his Master’s degree in electronic and computer systems engineering.
During his internship Ajay worked on development of optical solutions for the viewing of our identifiers, which he continued with after joining the company. As a Product Development Engineer here Ajay works on future technologies for Opsydia, and improving the current range of solutions, taking initial ideas to usable end products.