Varioptic, the France-based liquid lens company, has appointed Christian Dupont as chief executive, replacing Etienne Paillard who has now left the company. Varioptic says the change coincides with a move in company focus away from technology and product development to the challenges associated with deploying its products in the mobile imaging market.

HelioDynamics, the UK-based developer of solar energy technology, has appointed Clarke Simmons as chief executive and Keith Glichrist as chairman. The news coincides with the announcement of further funding of £600k (€886k) from the Low Carbon Accelerator. HelioDynamics has developed a solar photovoltaic system that uses mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight to produce electricity and heat. The recent appointments are intended to add a further layer of commercial focus to the company.

SoonR, the US and Denmark-based developer of technology for accessing and sharing computer files remotely, has appointed Patrick McVeigh as chief executive. Mr McVeigh was most recently chief executive of Nasdaq-listed PalmSource, a global provider of mobile handset operating systems. SoonR has developed a service that is designed to link data-enabled devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, or computers, to applications and data on any internet connected computer. The company also announced that company founder Martin Frid-Nielsen has been appointed chairman and chief product officer.

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