Corning Incorporated
Leadership History
3 leaders · 2002 to present
Wendell P. Weeks is the CEO of Corning, in the role since 2005. The first chief executive was James R. Houghton, from 2002.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward A. Schlesinger | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | 2021 | Present | 5 |
| Wendell P. Weeks | Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President | 2005 | Present | 21 |
| James R. Houghton | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 2002 | 2005 | 3 |
Corning is a materials science company based in Corning, New York, whose products sit inside devices and networks rather than on store shelves. It made glass envelopes for Edison's light bulbs, invented low-loss optical fiber in 1970 and the ceramic honeycomb substrate for catalytic converters in the early 1970s, and has supplied Gorilla Glass cover glass to smartphone makers since the first iPhone in 2007. With about 67,200 employees in 2025, it is now one of the main suppliers of optical fiber and connectivity for AI data centers.
Corning is a B2B manufacturer organized into Optical Communications (fiber, cable, and connectivity for carriers and data centers), Display (glass substrates for LCD and OLED panels), Specialty Materials (Gorilla Glass and advanced optics), Automotive (emissions-control ceramics and auto glass), Life Sciences (labware), and Hemlock and Emerging Growth businesses including polysilicon and solar wafers. It does not sell finished consumer devices; it engineers materials that customers design into phones, TVs, networks, and cars, often under multi-year supply agreements.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
2021 – Present
5 years (current)
Schlesinger managed the strict capital allocation required to expand Corning's massive optical fiber manufacturing capacity amid surging demand for AI data centers.
As CFO, he oversees the complex financial structuring of Corning's joint ventures, ensuring stable cash flows to fund the company's capital-intensive glass research.
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President
2005 – Present
21 years (current)
Weeks has led Corning since 2005 through Gorilla Glass, the optical fiber recovery, Valor Glass, and the Springboard plan. Corning reported $15.63 billion in 2025 GAAP sales and signed AI data-center deals with Meta, NVIDIA, and Amazon in 2026.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
2002 – 2005
3 years
Houghton bet the entire company on the mass production of optical fiber in the 1970s and 1980s, eventually partnering with Siemens to establish Siecor.
As the long-time CEO (and descendant of the company's founder), he transformed Corning from a stagnant legacy glassmaker into the undisputed global leader in advanced telecommunications infrastructure.
Corning's results are tied to cyclical end markets: hyperscaler and carrier capital spending in Optical Communications, TV and panel demand in Display, smartphone build cycles in Specialty Materials, and vehicle production and emissions rules in Environmental Technologies. Its high fixed manufacturing costs amplify downturns, as the 2001 telecom crash and 2023 slump showed. Display profits are exposed to the Japanese yen, which Corning has managed with currency hedges and price increases. In fiber, Chinese producers such as Hengtong and YOFC compete hard on price in standard products, while Prysmian and CommScope compete in cable and connectivity. Customer concentration is rising as a few hyperscalers account for a growing share of optical demand, and the electric-vehicle transition is a long-term headwind for gasoline and diesel emissions substrates.
Wendell P. Weeks is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Corning Incorporated. Weeks joined Corning in 1983 in financial management and rose through optical communications leadership to become President and COO in 2002, CEO in 2005, and Chairman in 2007. Over two decades as CEO, Weeks transformed Corning into an indispensable advanced materials partner for Apple, Samsung, and global cloud hyperscalers.
In early 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs called Wendell Weeks requesting a scratch-resistant glass screen for the unreleased original iPhone. Weeks revived Corning's dormant 1960s chemical-strengthening research ('Chemcor'), re-engineering it into Gorilla Glass and converting a Kentucky manufacturing plant in under six months to meet the iPhone's launch deadline.
James R. Houghton (great-great-grandson of founder Amory Houghton) served as CEO from 1983 to 1996 and returned as Chairman and CEO from 2002 to 2005. Houghton successfully steered Corning through the devastating 2001 telecom dot-com crash, restructuring the company around display glass and long-term R&D.
Edward A. Schlesinger serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Corning Incorporated, having joined in 2013 after senior financial executive roles at SPX Corporation and General Electric.
Dr. David L. Morse serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, leading Corning's worldwide research, development, and engineering organization at Sullivan Park and directing fundamental materials science breakthroughs.
Dr. Eugene Sullivan was a pioneering chemist who founded Corning's industrial research laboratory in 1908 (one of the first corporate R&D labs in America, now named Sullivan Park in his honor), inventing Pyrex and establishing Corning's science-first culture.
During the pandemic, Weeks maintained full manufacturing operations, partnered with the US government to deliver hundreds of millions of Valor Glass vaccine vials, and accelerated optical connectivity investments that powered global work-from-home broadband demand.
Corning's Board of Directors features an independent Lead Vice Chairman, fully independent board committees, strong diversity among directors, and a direct link between executive compensation and long-term Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) and ESG targets.
Wendell Weeks has been the CEO since 2005. He is widely considered an absolute legend in American manufacturing, having taken over after the telecom crash and executing the massive pivot to supply Gorilla Glass to Steve Jobs for the first iPhone.
Compare executive leadership tenures and strategic transitions
Explore Corning
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.