Serdar Ozbayraktar
Serdar has over 30 years of R&D experience in advanced materials like diamond, cubic boron nitride, ceramic magnets, stainless steels at various project, programme, functional and operational leadership levels
Positions he held and his experience include:
- General Manager of Diamond Research Laboratory, which housed 70-100 scientists, engineers and technologists to design and develop diamond and cBN related materials and products
- Core R&D Manager, leading a team of scientists to generate future revenue steam possibilities by designing and developing diamond related novel materials, products and applications.
- Energy Conservation in industrial processes like iron and steel, pulp and paper and power generation.
Serdar has PhD MSc and BSc in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering
- MSc in permanent ceramic magnets manufacturing
- PhD in stainless steel as cast microstructural modifications
Mark Munday
Mark has worked in the diamond and superabrasive business for over thirty years, in production, research and development, and group technical management roles. He has been responsible for the development and productionization of some of the key product ranges in the industry, and has worked with customers to tailor products for their applications in industries as diverse as automotive, aerospace, concrete and construction, rock drilling and processing, and biomedical devices.
He has also worked extensively with colleagues in six global locations on technology transfer, standardization, and process optimization. This has involved investment decision-making, project evaluation and management skills with diverse, cross-cultural and cross-functional teams.
Mark holds a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Oxford. His first degree was from Rhodes University in South Africa where he was the top undergraduate student in the sciences. He has published a number of key patents in high-pressure high-temperature synthesis technology, and in the optimisation of defect structures in diamond, and has numerically modelled, and written extensive internal reports, on the technical fundamentals of the business.
Richard Bodkin
Richard has a proven track record in innovation and product delivery for almost two decades utilising six sigma methodology, a rigorous design of experiments approach and statistical data analysis that has culminated in numerous production process improvements. These include cost reductions in excess of 40% to major product lines. A passion for innovation, technology and product delivery that has developed novel production processes, product innovation through fundamental research yielding licensable patents and commercial revenue streams in excess of US$150M. A strong background in fracture mechanics, failure analysis and materials science that has produced industry standard properties and behaviour tests in both the Oil and Gas sector as well as precision machining fields. An appreciation and working knowledge of several computer modelling packages for stress analysis has augmented and facilitated both product innovation, manufacture and testing.
Personal interests include agricultural innovation to produce sustainable subsistence agricultural practices with the primary aim of providing a practicable methods for household and community food delivery. A keen eye on exploring ways of incorporating current developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning and neural networks into multiple subsistence farms in order to optimise crop yield and food quality in order to decentralise commercial farming practices and bring food delivery to the doorstep of rural and suburban households. Complemented with an attitude of “Do or Do Not” and an unyielding passion and drive with purpose driven ambition firmly rooted in the belief of a universe that rewards action is the underlying principle of every delivery.
Understanding the customers needs and articulating them into a practical solution that is achievable as well as the ability to communicate complexity to a mixed audience ensures a proactive, productive and collaborative working environment. A fluency in project management methodologies such as Prince 2, Agile and Mission Directed Work Teams have all been used to manage projects across multiple teams working in different countries has been the strength that underpins delivery that is on time and in full.
Chris Wort
After graduating with BSc Hons. Physics in 1984, Chris worked at Plessey Research Caswell Limited on Advanced Inorganic and Aerospace Materials, eventually establishing and running the Thin Film Section. Whilst in this position during 1986, he initiated and proposed two R&D projects in the field of CVD diamond synthesis, successfully gaining UK MOD funding to support the projects from 1987 to 1990.
Chris joined the new CVD Diamond R&D Laboratory of a well established industrial diamond company in 1990 as a R&D Programme Manager. For the next four years his research programmes focused on the design and development of new CVD diamond synthesis reactors and novel gas-phase plasma processes. He developed and successfully transferred the technology from the R&D Laboratory to the production plant. In July 2001, his project work (from 1994,in collaboration with UK MoD) on CVD diamond missile domes was internationally recognized when it was nominated as a finalist in the Flight International awards for “The most outstanding contribution to Military Aviation during the year 2000”.
During the next decade, Chris worked in Technology Marketing (as Technical Manager) and then in Corporate Venturing (as Venture Manager – Technology), being actively involved in building a viable CVD diamond business for the company. He worked on new business development, new product innovation and development, contract management, technical due-diligence, sourcing venture capital and JV partnerships and the formation and incubation of spin-out and start-up companies.
For the last 10 years, Chris’ role within the company was as New Technology Manager, based at their UK Innovation Centre. He was responsible for not only identifying new, innovative technologies for the company, but also opportunities to use existing (often bespoke) group-wide technologies, know-how and capabilities for new applications and purposes beyond their current use. This was a wide reaching role that not only covered all aspects of company’s current products and fabrication technologies but also identifying new product opportunities in the future.
Chris not only has extensive knowledge of all aspects of diamond (and related) materials technology, but also expertise in other advanced inorganic materials (electronic materials and electroceramics), coatings and thin film deposition techniques.
Chris is named as an author / inventor on over 70 scientific publications, two book chapters and over 55 patents.