Speaker Bio
Steve Alexander is currently Ciena’s Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. He has held a number of positions since joining the Company in 1994, including General Manager of Ciena's Transport & Switching and Data Networking business units, Vice President of Transport Products and Director of Lightwave Systems.
Steve is a seasoned technology industry veteran with vast experience in the networking and communications space. Prior to joining Ciena he spent 12 years at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, reaching the position of Assistant Leader of the Optical Communications Technology Group. Steve’s passion and commitment for his profession is reflected in the numerous roles he has held at industry bodies throughout his career. These include, serving as a member of the Board of Governors of 5G Americas , a member of the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions (ATIS), a member of the Federal Communications Commission Technological Advisory Council (TAC-4) and a General Chair of the conference on Optical Fiber Communication. Steve is an IEEE Fellow and is a recipient of the IEEE Communications Society Industrial Innovation Award. He has been an Associate Editor for both the IEEE/OSA Journal of Optical Communications & Networking and for the Journal of Lightwave Technology, and has published and presented numerous conference papers and journal articles.
Although he holds the title of Chief Technology Officer, internally Steve is affectionately known as Ciena’s ‘Chief Trouble Shooter’, a tribute to his ability to solve even the most complex of problems. He is also regarded as the company’s ‘Chief Talker’, due to his many speaking commitments at industry conferences and trade shows.