Francois Locoh-Donou, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) will join F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV) on April 3 as president and CEO of the Seattle-based application delivery networking technology provider.
Locoh-Donou will also sit on F5s board of directors and succeed the retiring John McAdam, F5 said Monday.
What attracted us from the beginning of the CEO selection process was Francois multidisciplinary and multinational experience, ranging from product development to operations to sales, said McAdam, who will continue to serve as a board member upon his retirement in April.
Locoh-Donou joined Ciena in 1997 and has since held senior leadership roles at the Hanover, Maryland-based telecommunications company such as SVP of global products group, VP of international sales and EMEA VP and general manager.
He also previously served in research and development posts at France-based opto-electronics firm Photonetics prior to his move to Ciena.
He is a member of the advisory board of Johns Hopkins Universitys nonprofit global health affiliate JhPiego.