The Optical Society (OSA):

WHAT: The 15th annual Executive Forum, sponsored by the Optical Society (OSA) and collocated with OFC/NFOEC, brings together optical communications industry leaders to discuss opportunities and challenges in the field. Attendees gain insight and analysis on emerging trends and financial outlooks, while networking and connecting with fellow industry executives. Topics this year include software-defined networking, massively scalable optical networks, optical components, and the future of broadband access networks.

WHEN/WHERE: Monday, March 18, 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif.

• Keynote Addresses: 8:45 – 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 – 2:15 p.m.
• Panels: 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Program includes breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks and evening reception.

WHO: Executive-level representatives from companies including CenturyLink, Facebook, Alcatel-Lucent, Comcast, Google, Microsoft and Verizon. A detailed schedule and speaker bios are available on the Executive Forum website. Panel topics and highlights include:

• Keynote Presentation, featuring
  • Najam Ahmad, director, Network Engineering, Facebook
    Ahmad will address how the inner-workings of a social network's infrastructure drives network technology choices and evolution.

• Keynote Presentation: The Optical Backbone – What do we need?, featuring
  • Pieter Poll, senior vice president, National Network Planning, Engineering, and Construction, CenturyLink
    Poll will discuss traffic demands and trends that carriers are observing. The current marketplace dictates that optical unit costs must scale to provide for relatively flat capital expenditure. Does this remain true in the near future, and what does that mean for the carrier industry and the equipment and component supplier industries? What technologies do the carriers want to deploy into the network that they can’t today?

Panels:

• Building Massively Scalable Optical Networks, featuring:
  • Stuart Elby, chief technologist of digital media services, Verizon
  • Mattias Fridstrom, vice president & head of technology, TeliaSonera International Carrier
  • Vijay Gill, general manager, Global Foundation Services, Microsoft
  • David Welch, executive vice president & chief strategy officer, Infinera
• The Future of Broadband Access Networks: Towards 1Gbps and Beyond?, featuring:
  • Ed Harstead, leader, Technology Excellence Center, Chief Technology Office, Fixed Networks Division, Alcatel-Lucent
  • Milo Medin, vice president, Access Services, Google
  • Jorge D. Salinger, vice president, Access Network Architecture, Comcast Cable

• The Adaptable Optical Layer: Software’s Impact on Optical Communications, featuring:
  • Stephen B. Alexander, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Ciena
  • David Husak, CEO and founder, Plexxi
  • Robert Keys, chief technology officer, BTI Systems
  • Bikash Koley, principal architect and manager, Network Architecture, Google
  • David Ward, chief architect & CTO, Engineering, Cisco
• The Future of the Optical Component Industry – Driven by Technology Challenges or in Need of a Business Model Tune-Up?, featuring:
  • Alain Couder, chairman of the board and CEO, Oclaro, Inc.
  • Bill Gartner, vice president and general manager, High-End Routing and Optical Group, Cisco Systems
  • Jim Hjartarson, CEO, OneChip Photonics Inc.
  • Karen Liu, principal analyst, Components, Ovum
  • Jerry Rawls, executive chairman, Finisar

EVENT REGISTRATION: Registration for the 2013 Executive Forum can be accessed online through the Executive Forum registration page.

PRESS/ANALYST REGISTRATION: Members of the press and analyst community who are interested in attending should contact Brielle Day at bday@osa.org.

About OSA

Uniting more than 180,000 professionals from 175 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.