Innovation Continue

William R. Benner Jr. is President and CTO of Pangolin Laser Systems. As President, he sets the general strategic direction for the company and oversees all aspects of company operations. As CTO, he is in charge of all hardware and software development as well as research for new products and new directions for the laser industry as a whole.

Benner has been active in the laser community since 1985 and the wireless / mobile messaging community since 2000. In addition to his current role at Pangolin, he also served for five years as a member of the board of directors of the International Laser Display Association (ILDA) as well as serving for seven years as ILDA’s Technical Committee Chairman.

Throughout his career, Benner has worked with many of the world’s largest and most well-known show producers on specific projects, as well as manufacturers including NEOS, Cambridge Technologies, RMB Miniature Bearings, Comcast, LogicaCMG and many others.

Benner received gold medals in United States Skill Olympics as well as International Skill Olympics trials, while competing in the field of electronics. He holds numerous issued and pending US and International Patents, and has received personal letters of commendation from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and former Florida Governor Bob Graham. He has articles published in the SMPTE Journal, The Laserist, LaserFX, EDN magazine and Motorola’s Embedded Connection magazine, and is an author of the business novel Game Changers.