Ceyba Rounds Out Executive Team To Lead Provider Of Core Optical Networking Solutions
Formerly Solinet Systems, Ceyba Attracts Proven, Diverse Lineup
Ottawa, Canada - October 29, 2001 - Ceyba (formerly known as Solinet Systems) today announced the completion of its executive team. Scott Marshall, President and Chief Executive Officer, heads the group which also includes Hanan Anis, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder; John Bournazos, Vice President of Sales and Field Operations; Benoit Fleury, Vice President of Marketing; Jim Ghadbane, Vice President of Research and Development; Richard Pepin, Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, and Paulina Yee, Director of Finance and Administration. The team is drawn from a variety of industry leaders, including Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems, Newbridge Networks, Alcatel, Pirelli, Tellabs and Abatis Systems. Ceyba develops, manufactures and supports complete, core optical networking solutions for carrier networks.
"This executive team is built of proven all stars with a wealth of diverse experience in the optical and telecommunications networking industry. From the start, Ceyba is committed to being a technology leader, with the industry's highest degree of engineering competence," Marshall said. "Our solution strategy has gained incredible traction with the top-tier carriers that we've worked with in the last several months. We're very well funded, with tremendous backing in the venture capitalist community. Execution is Ceyba's current focus, and we've assembled the right team to ensure success. We're strongly positioned to be a dominant player in the core optical networking space."
The Ceyba product, a true all-optical network solution, offers both 10 and 40 Gbps service capabilities on the same platform. This allows carriers to optimally address the full range of customer traffic, delivering the right bandwidth for both long haul and ultra-long haul applications. Switching and network intelligence are also key ingredients of the Ceyba solution, enabling greater network agility and service velocity.
"With our platform for the core network, Ceyba is well positioned to support carriers' next wave of infrastructure deployments," said Fleury, Ceyba's Vice President of Marketing. "We've spent a lot of time talking with carriers about exactly what they need in the core optical networking space - products that simultaneously scale the network, reduce capital and operational costs, and enable new and differentiated service capabilities. We are preparing ourselves to fulfill the needs of our major customers. Consequently, we're poised to intercept the market just as it ramps up with a positively disruptive and very compelling offering."
Of the company's name change, Marshall, the President and CEO said, "The name 'Solinet Systems' served us well since our founding, but moving forward, we felt that 'Ceyba' better reflects our vision. The ceyba, a tree that grows in tropical climates, is known for rapid growth, longevity and emergence above the rest of the forest."
To date, Ceyba has raised a total of $108 million (U.S.) of venture capital, including $93 million in its most recent round in May 2001. U.S. Venture Partners led this round, joined by New Enterprise Associates, Alta Partners, several strategic partner investors and first-round players Bessemer, Worldview and Altamira. That round ranks as the largest private equity infusion ever into a Canadian telecommunications company, according to Macdonald and Associates of Toronto. Ceyba recently opened a 100,000-square-foot facility in Ottawa, which includes a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and development lab.
About Ceyba
Founded in May 2000, Ceyba (www.ceyba.com) is a private company headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Ceyba's core optical networking solutions help carriers and service providers boost the profitability of their networks. The company's world-class development and operations team applies leading-edge technology, combined with engineering excellence, to drastically simplify the architecture of the core network. This reduces customers' capital and operational costs, accelerates end-to-end channel turn-up and enables deployment of new, differentiated services.