Avanex Corporation, a global provider of optical network solutions, today announced the appointment of Dr. Giovanni Barbarossa as CEO, President, and Director. Dr. Barbarossa has been with the company for 8 years, serving as Chief Technical Officer and Sr. V.P., and, since July, as Interim CEO. He has also been named as a member of the Avanex Board of Directors.

Prior to Avanex, Dr. Barbarossa held senior management roles in the Optical Networking Division of Agilent Technologies, and in the Network Product Group of Lucent Technologies. Before that he was with AT&T Labs, and a research associate with Bell Labs. He has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Glasgow, U.K., and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bari in Italy.

Paul Smith, Avanex Board Chairman, commented on the factors involved in the decision, including Barbarossa’s company and industry knowledge, and his strong relationships with customers. “During his tenure as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Barbarossa has begun executing on key initiatives aimed at improving financial performance, including reducing the company’s cost structure and expediting time-to-market on key product platforms. Giovanni has secured the confidence of the board, our customers, and employees, and we believe that he is the right person to lead Avanex during these challenging times.”

Avanex Corporation provides low cost, intelligent optical networking solutions, designed to support the deployment of the next generation of fiber optic transport systems. Avanex products address the core functions of optical transmission networks, including amplification, dispersion compensation, multiplexing and signal processing, switching and routing, and transmission. The company is known for its best-in-industry cost structure and lean manufacturing model. It focuses primarily on the telecommunication system integrator and optical module manufacturer markets, and has offices and operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

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