John started the University of Auckland Laser Lab in the early 80′s and has been CEO of Southern Photonics since its inception in 2001. He is a member of a number of international technical panels in the fields of opto-electronics and laser physics, as well as being the point of contact for sales inquiries and technical consulting work in Southern Photonics.
He left the University of Auckland in 2013 to enable full time involvement with Southern Photonics although he still teaches some specialist courses within the Physics Department. He is the Director of the Lighthouse Platform linking researchers in Photonics and Optics with industry in New Zealand, a field of particular interest to him.