Intune Networks appoints ex-Ciena exec as COO

Irish optical transport and switching company Intune Networks has appointed Arthur Smith as its chief operating officer – an indication, perhaps, that interest in its optical burst switching technology is picking up. The startup’s products became commercially available about a year ago (see “Intune Networks' Verisma optical burst switch/transport platform now available”).

Arthur Smith joined Intune in last month. Previously, he served as a senior vice president with Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN), where he held the role of chief operating officer. Dr. Smith also led the integration of Nortel’s Metro Ethernet group after Ciena acquired it in 2010. Prior to these appointments, he held a variety of roles in engineering, operations and customer service after joining Ciena in 1997.

From 1988 to 1997, Dr. Smith was employed by Bell Northern Research in Ottawa, Canada, and Harlow, England, as a research engineer in optoelectronics. Dr. Smith holds both a B.Eng. and a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

Commenting on his appointment Dr. Smith said, “Intune has developed industry-leading technology in optical burst switching and I am delighted to be part of the company. The ability to switch packets all-optically over a distributed switching platform will revolutionize the way networks are built. I'm really looking forward to working with the fast-paced and innovative team here at Intune.”