NextFlex News – November 2023

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

As many of you know, today is my last full day as Executive Director of NextFlex. It has been my honor and privilege to have launched and supported NextFlex since 2015. Starting tomorrow, November 16, I will shift to an advisory role in which I will continue to support the team during the transition. In the interim, Dr. Art Wall, Director of Engineering and Fab Operations, and Dr. Scott Miller, Director of Technology, will co-lead NextFlex until a successor Executive Director is formally named and the transition is complete.

We’ve accomplished so much together. Over the past eight years, NextFlex has invested over $450M in development projects aimed at advancing the manufacturing readiness of hybrid electronics, established a portfolio of education and workforce development programs that have reached over 17,000 students and transitioning service members around the country, created opportunities for the member community to collaborate on advanced technology, and established the pilot-scale manufacturing hub in San José.

Being a part of the startup of NextFlex was a passion project for me. Having led many successful startups in my career, leading NextFlex allowed me to not only bring technical expertise to bear, I also brought an entrepreneurial spirit that helped shape our technology and EWD programs which are so successful that they have become best-in-class examples which others have emulated. I can’t say enough about the fantastic NextFlex team and our government partners who’ve worked tirelessly to make sure that our members and fab clients are highly engaged and supported. There’s much more to come as we broaden our scope to expand applications for hybrid electronics, so our work continues.

Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your support over the many years we’ve had together, and I appreciate all you’ve done to help NextFlex be successful. This isn’t good-bye, it’s more of a fond farewell, as I’ll keep in touch with the NextFlex family and help wherever I can.

Sincerely,

Malcolm J. Thompson
NextFlex Executive Director