Lightwave Logic, Inc. Announces Retirement of President Thomas E. Zelibor
Rhea-AI Summary
Lightwave Logic (NASDAQ:LWLG) announced that President Thomas E. Zelibor will retire effective December 31, 2025, citing personal reasons. CEO Yves LeMaitre will assume the combined roles of CEO and President on January 1, 2026.
During his recent tenure, Zelibor led operational initiatives to ready the company for commercial scale-up, including implementing processes to ensure material reliability and compatibility with industry standards and acquiring equipment to support future volume production. Zelibor previously served as CEO (2011–2017) and Board Chair (2011–2022).
Positive
- Succession plan: CEO Yves LeMaitre to assume President role on Jan 1, 2026
- Operational setup: Implemented processes to ensure material reliability and compatibility
- Manufacturing readiness: Acquired equipment to support future volume production
Negative
- Leadership change: President Thomas Zelibor to retire effective Dec 31, 2025
- Knowledge gap risk: Loss of Zelibor's operational experience following his retirement
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, LWLG gained 0.25%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction. This price movement added approximately $1M to the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $540M at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
LWLG gained 2.18% with below-average volume while key peers HDSN, OEC, MATV, KOP, and KRO were also positive, rising between 0.76% and 2.94%. However, no peers appeared in the momentum scanner, suggesting the move looked more stock-specific than a broad sector rotation.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 08 | Management change | Neutral | +0.3% | President retirement with CEO assuming President role from Jan 2026. |
| Nov 25 | Commercial update | Positive | +3.0% | New technical program with second Fortune Global 500 customer for EO polymers. |
| Nov 13 | Conference participation | Neutral | -10.9% | CEO attending Roth Technology Conference and investor meetings in New York. |
| Nov 11 | Investor communication | Neutral | -7.7% | Announcement of investor update call and webcast with Q&A session. |
| Nov 04 | Commercial update | Positive | +9.0% | Fortune Global 500 partner advancing to Stage 3 in Design Win Cycle. |
Management and commercial updates have often coincided with meaningful price moves, but reactions have varied, with some neutral events seeing sharp declines and others strong gains.
Over the last few months, Lightwave Logic has issued several operational and management updates. Commercial pipeline news in November 2025 tied to Fortune Global 500 partners and silicon photonics scale-up saw gains of 2.98% and 9.03%. In contrast, neutral items like a conference appearance and an investor call in mid-November 2025 were followed by declines of 10.95% and 7.72%. Today’s management retirement news on December 8, 2025 saw only a modest 0.25% move, implying a relatively muted reaction versus prior catalysts.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement details the planned retirement of the President effective December 31, 2025, with the current CEO assuming the President role on January 1, 2026. Historically, management changes at Lightwave Logic have produced mixed share reactions, from double-digit moves to modest responses. Investors may track execution of the commercial scale-up described in recent pipeline updates, while keeping an eye on ongoing net losses of $5,100,559 in Q3 2025 and continued equity issuance for liquidity.
Key Terms
electro-optic (EO) polymers technical
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
CEO Yves LeMaitre to assume President role
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO / ACCESS Newswire / December 8, 2025 / Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) (the "Company"), a technology platform company leveraging its proprietary electro-optic (EO) polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power in a small form factor, announced today that President Tom Zelibor has informed the Company of his intention to retire from his position, effective December 31, 2025, citing personal reasons. Yves LeMaitre will become the CEO and President of the Company on January 1, 2026.
During his tenure, Mr. Zelibor successfully led operational initiatives to position the Company for commercial scalability. This included the implementation of processes and workstreams to ensure the reliability and compatibility of the Company's material with industry standards as well as the acquisition of equipment to support future volume production. Mr. Zelibor also served as Lightwave Logic's CEO from 2011-2017 and Board Chair from 2011-2022.
"Tom came out of retirement at a critical time for the Company and played an invaluable role helping to reposition Lightwave Logic for commercial success," said Yves LeMaitre, CEO of Lightwave Logic. "Tom's efforts over the past year have strengthened our internal systems and laid the groundwork for the planned scale-up of our manufacturing operations. I would like to personally thank him for his hard work, dedication and years of service to the Company, and we wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement."
Mr. Zelibor said, "It has been a privilege to return to Lightwave Logic during such an exciting period. With a clear mission and defined goals, I'm proud of what we've accomplished, and I now feel it is the right time to devote more attention to my family. I want to thank the Board and Yves for their trust and confidence, as well as the entire Lightwave team for their hard work and dedication over the past year. I look forward to watching the Company's continued success."
About Lightwave Logic, Inc.
Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) www.lightwavelogic.com is a technology platform company leveraging its proprietary engineered electro-optic (EO) polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power in a small form factor. The Company's high activity and high stability organic polymers allow it to create next-generation photonic EO devices that convert data from electrical signals into light/optical signals for applications in telecommunications, and for data transmission potentially used to support generative AI.
Safe Harbor Statement
The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "explores," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, lack of available funding; general economic and business conditions; competition from third parties; intellectual property rights of third parties; regulatory constraints; changes in technology and methods of marketing; delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations; shortages in components; production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components; those events and factors described by us in Item 1.A "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q; other risks to which our company is subject; other factors beyond the company's control.
Contacts:
Ryan Coleman or Nick Teves
Alpha IR Group for Lightwave Logic
lwlg@alpha-ir.com
312-445-2870
SOURCE: Lightwave Logic
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
FAQ
When will Lightwave Logic (LWLG) President Thomas Zelibor retire?
Who will take on the President role at Lightwave Logic (LWLG) after Zelibor retires?
What operational actions did President Zelibor lead at Lightwave Logic (LWLG) during his recent tenure?
Does the Lightwave Logic (LWLG) announcement mention reasons for Zelibor's retirement?
What prior roles did Thomas Zelibor hold at Lightwave Logic (LWLG)?
