Ribbon Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: RBBN) says that Darryl Edwards, president and CEO of ECI Telecom at the time Ribbon acquired the optical transport and SDN technology provider (see “Ribbon Communications to acquire ECI Telecom”), left the company at the end of April as planned. The merger closed March 3, 2020; in between, Edwards had been advising new Ribbon CEO and President Bruce McClelland (see “Ribbon Communications names Bruce McClelland president, CEO and adds directors”).
"We're immensely grateful for the great work that Darryl has done in cementing ECI's place as an innovation leader in the packet and optical networking space," said McClelland. "We are now very focused on executing on our strategy to significantly scale the ECI business by leveraging the strong foundation that Ribbon has with major service providers and enterprise customers around the world, particularly as we enter the 5G networking era."
Edwards joined ECI in 2012 from private equity firm Warburg Pincus, where he was a telecommunications advisor, and mobile operator services supplier MACH, where he was chairman at the same time. "It has been a great pleasure to lead ECI for the past eight years. During this time, the industry has changed dramatically, and so did ECI," Edwards commented. "When I became CEO of ECI, we had to reassert ECI's innovation and put it back at the heart of the company. We've since become a pioneer in the industry, supporting a large number of customers, helping them realize their ambitions with our unique elastic network philosophy and approach. The merger with Ribbon is a natural and positive next step for ECI as it looks to continue to expand its global presence."
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.