Signalling a move to the next phase of its development, optical systems house Coriant has named Shaygan Kheradpir as its new chief executive officer and chairman of the board.
Up to now, Kheradpir has been an operating partner in Marlin Equity Partners, the private equity firm that bought up several optical companies and then combined them under Coriant.
Kheradpir succeeds president and CEO Pat DiPietro, who will return to his former role as operating partner at Marlin, while also staying close by as Coriant's vice chairman.
DiPietro was brought in to guide the integration of Coriant with Tellabs in 2014. By selecting a neutral head from outside either of the two companies, the intention was to create a merger between equals, said a Coriant source at ECOC 2015 in Valencia. DiPietro’s departure indicates that the integration phase is complete and Coriant is ready to take the next step, he adds.
The new CEO brings a wealth of experience earned over 28 years in telecoms, technology and the financial industries. In a telecom world that is becoming more service and application aware, he brings a perspective from both the operator side and from large enterprises.
Kheradpir began his career at GTE, which became Verizon, where he was subsequently appointed executive vice president and chief information officer. He was a member of the executive team driving major changes, including the FiOS programme, one of the largest infrastructure programs in the US with a capital investment of more than $20 billion.
He next joined Barclays as chief operations and technology officer and also served as a member of the bank's executive committee, the first time an executive responsible for technology had sat on the committee, according to reports.
Following this role, he became CEO of Juniper Networks, a position held for less than a year. During that period, he developed an integrated operating plan for the company designed to appease activist investors by cutting costs and return capital to shareholders.
At Coriant, Kheradpir will hit the ground running, having worked closely with Coriant’s senior management team since earlier this year in his role as advisor to Marlin Equity Partners. Described as “a natural fit for the company”, he will shape and drive Coriant's growth strategy.
"What attracted me to Coriant were its comprehensive portfolio of packet optical and data networking solutions, world-class technology innovation, global reach, and expanding customer base of top tier network operators as well as cloud providers and large enterprises," said Kheradpir. "As market drivers intensify the imperative for an entirely new level of efficiency and innovation in network architectures, operations, and service creation, Coriant will enable our customers with cost-disruptive networking solutions optimized for the highest degree of automation, programmability, and service agility."
DiPietro said: "We are honoured to welcome Shaygan to Coriant and fortunate to have an executive of his calibre leading the company. His strategic insight and guidance on focused operational execution have been invaluable since we began working together earlier this year, and we are confident in his ability to drive Coriant to the next level of growth."
