Independent Director
Dr. Michael W. Routh serves on the Board of Directors of promising early-stage and growth companies after holding senior leadership positions in several top-tier public companies in the analytical instrument and water technology spaces. Dr. Routh’s career spans over 30 years in the analytical instrument industry split equally between top executive and senior functional leadership roles in such notable companies as Varian, Applied Research Laboratories, Baird, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bio-Rad, and General Electric. As President of GE Analytical Instruments, a Division of GE Water, he led the business to a dominant market position, tripling revenues, increasing operating profit 10-fold, and sustaining >30% EBIT, resulting in an enterprise value of ~$350M. Prior to acquisition by GE in 2005, he was Group Executive Officer for Ionics, global leader in seawater desalination technology, leading its Instrument Business Group to record growth and profitability. Prior to Ionics, Dr. Routh led the turnaround for BioRad’s Digilab Division, focusing on product leadership and business execution to regain its position as a global leader in FT-IR spectrometers.
Previously, Dr. Routh was President of Baird Corporation, makers of optical spectrometers and night vision technology, where he led the business to new product roadmaps and successful financial turnarounds, culminating in the sale and integration of Baird’s Analytical Instruments Division into Thermo Instruments and its Night Vision Division into Litton. Dr. Routh also held a number of leadership and technical positions at Applied Research Laboratories, now a division of Thermo Fisher, in general management, global marketing, product management and product development, in both California and Switzerland. His early career responsibilities were developed at Varian where he led applications, research, and technology in California and Australia, for Varian’s Spectroscopy and Chromatography Divisions.
As a board director, Dr. Routh brings P&L experience in top management, marketing, R&D, strategic business development, acquisitions, and overseas assignments to the table. His skills and expertise in the analytical instrument industry, creating and expanding market share, exceeding investment return expectations, penetrating international markets, acquiring and integrating businesses, accelerating product development, improving efficiencies, and establishing business culture are assets not abundant in many early-stage companies. Dr. Routh earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from Fresno State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, all in Analytical Chemistry.