Andrew Rickman

Andrew Rickman OBE is an entrepreneur in the field of silicon photonics. He is the founder, and was executive chairman and CEO of Rockley Photonics, a technology firm based in the United Kingdom.[1] He was Britain’s first Internet billionaire.[2] As CEO, he took Rockley Photonics public through a SPAC merger with a valuation of over one billion dollars in 2021 and the company went private again in 2023.

Early life and education

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Born circa 1960,[2] his hometown was Bookham, Surrey.[3] Rickman has a mechanical engineering degree from Imperial College, London;[4] a PhD in silicon photonics from Surrey University (supervisor: Professor Graham Reed) an MBA from Cranfield University and honorary doctorates from Surrey, Edinburgh Napier and Kingston Universities. He is a Chartered Engineer.[5]

Career and business ventures

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Bookham Technology

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Rickman was previously the CEO and Chairman of Bookham Technology, the first company to commercialise silicon photonics.[6] He founded Bookham Technology in 1988.[2] in the spare room in his family house in Wiltshire.[6] Intel was an early investor in Bookham[7] and Gordon Moore was involved.

Bookham grew rapidly from a start-up to a FTSE100 company, making Rickman the first technology billionaire in the UK, with a personal wealth of over £1.5 billion in the summer of 2000.[2] Its valuation crashed as the dotcom bubble burst in 2000.[2] Bookham Technology had an IPO in 2000, and later in 2009, became Oclaro.[8] After moving the company to Silicon Valley, he left the company in 2004 to focus on being a technology investor.[2]

Rockley Ventures

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He invested $10 million Kotura in 2008, becoming chairman and joining the board of directors.[9]

By 2009, he had created the investment company Rockley Ventures with his brother Robert. The company had invested in Blue Whale Mail, and Spikes Cavell.[6] Other recent stakes included Firecomms.[10] In 2009, he and his brother launched a new $100 million technology fund in China, in partner with the Shandong Academy of Sciences and Shandong High-Tech Investment Corporation.[11] In 2010, it was reported that Rickman and his brother had raised $200 million from the Shandong and Shanxi governments to invest in technology firms in various Chinese provinces, such as Shandong Micro-Sensor Photonics. His Rockley China Fund was mostly backed by Hong Kong-based investors.[10]

Rockley Photonics

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He started a new business, Rockley Photonics, in 2013,[2] serving as CEO.[8] The company, which designs silicon photonic chips, was based in Oxford and California.[8] In 2014, he was chairman and CEO of Rockey Photonics, and he had recently served as[1] Kotura chairman,[1][5] a silicon photonics company which is now part of Nvidia. As CEO, he took Rockley Photonics public through a SPAC merger with a valuation of over one billion dollars in 2021.

He resigned as CEO of Rockley Photonics Holdings Limited in December 2022, instead becoming executive chairman of Rockley.[12] In early 2023, the company filed for bankruptcy protection and underwent a restructuring.[13] In June 2023, he remained CEO of Rockley Photonics.[14] The company went private again in 2023.

Honours and awards

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Rickman was awarded an OBE for services to the telecommunications industry,[5] and is a winner of the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal for his outstanding contribution to British Engineering in 2002.[15][16] In 2000, Rickman was named UK Technology and Communications Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young.[5]

Other achievements

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In 2011, Rickman was awarded an Honorary Professorship at SIMIT, Chinese Academy of Sciences.[4] Rickman has held advisory board positions with the East Asia Institute of the University of Cambridge and Applied Science and Technology Research Institute of Hong Kong.[5][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Rockley Photonics closes 'several million dollar' first funding round". Optics.org. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Smale, Will (2020-03-09). "The tech boss who lost more than a billion". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
  3. ^ Maggie Hartford (April 16, 2009). "Entrepreneur's dream". Oxford Mail.
  4. ^ a b c Rickman, A. 2021. Andrew Rickman’s profile page. [LinkedIn]. [Accessed 30 September 2021. Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrickman
  5. ^ a b c d e "Executive profile: Andrew G. Rickman OBE". Bloomberg Business. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Angels' wings help with take-off". Financial Times. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  7. ^ "INTEL INVESTS IN UK CHIPMAKER, BOOKHAM". Tech Monitor. November 24, 1998.
  8. ^ a b c "Rockley closes $50m growth funding round". Semiconductor Today. October 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Peter Clarke (April 25, 2008). "Bookham founder buys into Kotura with $10 million VC round". EE Times.
  10. ^ a b Amanda Lee (December 13, 2010). "Rickman's experience put to work in China". South China Morning Post.
  11. ^ Andrew Woodin (May 10, 2009). "UK 'super angels' launch in China". Financial Times.
  12. ^ "Rockley Photonics Appoints Richard A. Meier As CEO". CityBiz Press Release. December 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Fiona Alston (June 5, 2023). "Restructuring lifeline over for Rockley Photonics as it emerges from Chapter 11 with $35 million fresh funding". Tech EU.
  14. ^ Nick Flaherty (June 12, 2023). "Rockley Photonics emerges from Chapter 11, raises $35m". EE News Europe.
  15. ^ "Engineers receive silver innovation awards". theguardian.com. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Silver Medal - 1995-2014 winners". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
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