Network equipment maker Ciena today named a COO and
realigned its R&D operation to improve productivity and profits.
Arthur Smith has been promoted from senior vice president of global
operations to the newly created COO job. He has been with Ciena since 1997
and has helped reduce product and manufacturing costs.
The 39-year-old will oversee marketing, human resources and IT efforts, as
well as continue to be responsible for worldwide customer service and
supply chain management.
Previously, many of Smith’s new duties were dispersed between the Ciena CEO
and CFO, Nicole Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Linthicum, Md., company,
said.
Ciena has also placed R&D efforts under the direct control of CTO Steve
Alexander, who has served as the company’s top technologist since 2000.
Prior to the reorganization, division senior vice presidents monitored those
projects.
The new approach will result in a more unified R&D approach that draws from
all Ciena divisions, the company said. It should also help spur the ramp-up
of the company’s India operations.
“Arthur’s operational leadership and Steve’s vision and leadership of our
consolidated engineering efforts is a powerful combination that will
contribute to our forward progress,” Gary Smith, Ciena’s president and CEO,
said in a statement.
Ciena was founded in 1992 and competes against Cisco ,
Nortel and Lucent Technologies
, among
others. Its hardware and software is used by ISPs, cable companies,
government agencies and large corporations.
