Felder, who will take up his new post in November, joins from Osram where he has most recently served as senior vice president of sales in the Asia Pacific region.

He holds a doctorate in electrical engineering, and began his career as a project manager in Siemens’ R&D department, working in various parts of the company before joining its lighting subsidiary in 2003. He has held several senior roles at Osram Opto Semiconductors in Asia.

Felder joins Tridonic shortly after parent company Zumtobel reported disappointing performance in 2011 from its components business. Turnover fell by 6.7 per cent to €408 million (£327 million) last year, while the Zumtobel Group as a whole grew.

Tridonic has also appointed a new COO, Gavin Brydon, and a new CFO, Werner Blum.

Zumtobel CEO Harald Sommerer said when the latest financial results were published last month that the components business needs to adapt its structures ‘faster than we had anticipated, while at the same time investing in both conventional and LED products’.

Sommerer said of Felder’s appointment: ‘We are delighted that, in Alfred Felder, we have been able to recruit a highly experienced technology expert and far-sighted manager to head up our components business. With his extensive knowledge of LED and OLED technology, his familiarity with the industry and his leadership skills, he will be able to play a major part in ensuring that Tridonic is fit for the future in this dynamic phase of the technology shift.’