Formlabs Adds Apple Veteran Dan Riccio to Board, Replacing Co-Founder After 15 Years

Formlabs announced a board reshuffle on August 12 that replaces a founding-era director with one of the most recognized hardware executives of the last thirty years. Dan Riccio, Apple's former Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, is joining as a strategic advisor and personal investor. Co-founder Natan Linder is stepping down as chairman after fifteen years and moving to an advisory role. CEO Max Lobovsky takes over as chairman. Chief Product Officer David Lakatos becomes president and joins the board.

The timing is not accidental. Formlabs launched the Fuse X1, its large-format SLS system, in early June. The machine starts at $84,999 and ships in the fourth quarter of 2026. That price and build volume put Formlabs in direct competition with established industrial players. Riccio's experience scaling hardware at Apple is exactly the profile a company moving from prosumer roots into industrial manufacturing wants on its side.

Lobovsky made the connection explicit in a statement. He said Riccio built some of the most beloved hardware products in the world at enormous scale by obsessing over details most executives ignore. That language signals the board's priorities: Formlabs wants to tighten design rigor, improve operational scaling, and move faster through production certifications.

What the leadership changes actually mean

Lakatos is the most consequential promotion in the announcement. He joined within the company's first couple of years and has led product development for over a decade. Every Formlabs printer, material release, and software update since the original Kickstarter-backed Form 1 carries his decisions. Naming him president and putting him on the board formalizes the influence he already had.

Shouraboura becomes lead director. She ran supply chain and fulfillment at Amazon and sat on its executive leadership team. That background matters as Formlabs expands its Shenzhen operations and widens its manufacturing footprint across Asia.

Rob Willett, who joined the board in February 2026, is increasing his stake alongside Riccio. Neither investment amount was disclosed. A separate development landed the same week: Chinese additive manufacturing fund Concord AM Capital announced a strategic investment in Formlabs on LinkedIn, framing it as a partnership for APAC expansion. Shenzhen Capital Group, an early backer from the 2018 Series C, remains in the shareholder base.

The IPO question

Two consecutive board changes, each replacing a founding-era voice with operator experience drawn from publicly traded industrials, reads like preparation for a listing. The first change in February replaced Carl Bass, former Autodesk chief executive, with Willett. This second change brings in Riccio and elevates Lakatos. The pattern is consistent: Formlabs is building a governance structure suited for public-company scrutiny while it grows into the industrial accounts that drive recurring revenue.

Linder's departure closes the founding chapter of the board. Lobovsky credited him with backing the venture before it was obvious. Linder will stay as an advisor, so the company retains his institutional memory. The day-to-day influence, though, now sits with people who have scaled hardware through IPO cycles and global supply chains.