Thinfilm’s Board of Directors has appointed Kevin Barber as CEO. Prior to joining Thinfilm, Barber served as senior vice president, General Mobile Division of Synaptics, a NASDAQ listed company.

The current CEO, Davor Sutija will step down from the position of CEO, having served in this position since July 2010. Sutija will continue in the CEO role until Barber has joined.

During his tenure as CEO, Sutija has led the transformation of Thinfilm into a leading player in the printed electronics market, enabling the Internet of Everything through its NFC (near field communications) solutions. With Sutija at the helm, Thinfilm has achieved significant technical and commercial milestones, expanded globally and established its own manufacturing facilities in San Jose, CA, USA.

The Board would like to thank Sutija for his significant contributions. Thinfilm today maintains a strong and dedicated team with significant industry experience. Thinfilm is rapidly entering the volume commercialization phase with its NFC solutions and Sutija will now transition his role to Barber.

As senior vice president, General Manager Mobile Division of Synaptics, Barber drove the strategy, business development, M&A and execution of growing revenue fourfold to over $1 billion annually.  Barber has also served as CEO of ACCO Semiconductor a Venture Capital funded startup. Prior to ACCO, Barber served as senior vice president, General Manager Mobile Business at Skyworks Solutions, where he drove the strategy achieving top RF power amplifier market share in the high growth mobile market. Prior to Skyworks, Barber served as senior vice president, operations at Conexant leading strategic efforts of global manufacturing scale, technology development, and supply chain management enabling Conexant to be a leader in diverse markets. Barber currently serves as a Board Director at Intevac.

Barber is a US citizen and resident, and his appointment as CEO of Thinfilm requires an exemption from the residency requirements under the Public Limited Companies Act. Such exemption has been obtained from the The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.