Our People

FOUNDERS

Dr Chris Burgess

Founder & CEO

Chris is co-Founder & CEO of Sentinel with responsibility for the business strategy and success. Chris is an experienced lead scientist with a long track record of delivering high impact photonics research during a 15 year career in Dstl. Chris is co-inventor of the key laser detection technology and now provides strategic and technical leadership to all of Sentinel's business areas.

Chris holds a PhD in applied photonics, and a 1st Class MPhys from Oxford University.

Sean Tipper

Founder & CTO

Sean is co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Sentinel Photonics and is responsible for the scientific and technical strategies. As co-inventor of the laser detection technology, and with 5 years experience in the field of electro-optical protection measures within Dstl, Sean brings ample technical know-how and relevant experience to the role.

Sean holds a 1st Class MPhys in Astrophysics.

Our Core Values

01

We exist to make a real-world difference. We will always prioritise making an impact in our business decisions.

We want our products to have maximum reach, saving lives and protecting our customers from laser threats.

02

We strive for technical excellence in everything we do.

We are proud of the quality of our products, based on 20+ years of MOD experience and the impact they make for our customers.

03

We always act with honour and integrity.

We are proud of our business practices and strive to be an influential collaborator with Defence & Security companies.

OUR JOURNEY

2017 – 2019

Research and development within MOD at Dstl. Intellectual Property secured and developed. Spin out company created

2020

October – First Founder Sean Tipper joins Sentinel Photonics as CTO.

October – First DASA contract secured for LASERD sensor development

December – Second DASA contract secured to optimise LASERD algorithm

2021

April – Second Founder Chris Burgess joins as CEO

October – Defence Innovation Fund contract secured to develop LASERD MAX

November – Second DASA grant secured for FROST development

November – Field trials of LASERD MAX X-model (TRL4)

2022

January – Opened Sentinel Photonics Office & lab at Cody Technology Park

February – First commercial sales of FROST

June – Field trial of LASERD MAX Alpha prototypes (TRL5)

September – Seed funding round completed

September – Head of Electronics Stewart Forbes, Head of Software Kevin Broadey and Project Manager Shannon Berridge join Sentinel Photonics

September – Defence Innovation Loan project to commercialise LASERD MAX begun

October – LASERD MAX Beta prototype research begins

November – LASERD MICRO contract secured with MOD

December – Head of Design Chris Byrne joins Sentinel Photonics

2023

January – Rachel Chambers joined the executive team as COO

April – Debbie Pearce joins as Executive Assistant

May – Chanene Romain joins as Head of Marketing & Customer Experience

June – Dan Perrett joins as Senior Software Engineer

July – Rees Jones joins as Design Engineer

August – Jo Baines joins the team as Accountant

August – Melvin Thomas joins the team as Electronics Engineer

November – Rupert Wilcox joins the team as Production Technician

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

We are committed to working with partners and customers to provide products and solutions that exceed expectations. Global partnerships play a pivotal role in driving success and ensuring sustained growth in an increasingly interconnected world.

These partnerships facilitate access to a vast network of like-minded professionals, experts, and industry leaders from around the world., they also help to grow new business opportunities providing valuable insights into foreign markets, regulatory environments, and cultural nuances, streamlining the process of market entry.

 

Why did we sign the Armed Forces Covenant?

Sentinel Photonics Ltd signed the Armed Forces covenant on Monday 19th September 2022, why did we sign this voluntary pledge and what does it mean to us?

The Armed Forces Covenant is a voluntary pledge that outlines the moral obligation between the nation, the government, and the armed forces, as well as the support and recognition owed to current and former members of the armed forces community, including their families.

We started Sentinel Photonics with the sole reason to save lives and make a difference not just in Defence but the civil market too. Our products work first time, every time and we pride ourselves on knowing when the user is being targeted by a hostile laser threat, we can give them time to make life saving decisions.

This is our pledge:

  1. Employment support to members of the Armed Forces Community.
  2. We will support Reservists by offering them additional days of annual leave (paid/unpaid) in order to carry out their duties.
  3. We will offer work placements and guaranteed interview schemes to Veterans seeking employment.
  4. We will support the employment of Service spouses, partners and dependants.
  5. We are registered with Forces Families Jobs we will offer short notice leave to those whose partners are sent on deployment.
  6. We will work with relevant charities and the Career Transition Partnership to offer work opportunities to the Wounded, Injured and Sick.
  7. We will consider ways in which remote-working solutions might benefit the mobile Armed Forces Community, especially partners and spouses.
  8. Promoting the Armed Forces: We will promote the Armed Forces Covenant, the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and our support for the Armed Forces Community to our staff, customers, supply chains and the wider public.
  9. We will use the covenant scheme logo in our communications and marketing.
  10. We will engage with local Armed Forces presence including local Army units, reservist units, RAF stations and naval bases.

It’s worth noting that signing the covenant is only the first step; the real value lies in implementing our pledge and taking practical actions to support the armed forces community effectively.

Sentinel Photonics will work towards creating an inclusive and supportive environment that addresses the specific needs of military personnel, veterans, and their families.

www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk