On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .

Chris is the Managing Director for Ciena in Saudi Arabia . He is driving Ciena ’ s regional strategy and business operations and is dedicated to helping Ciena ’ s local customers transform their networks to support the region ’ s growing digital connectivity demands .

For more than 30 years , Ciena has been the global provider in networking systems , services , and software . Ciena ’ s optical technology and expertise has been the driving force and foundation behind the company ’ s success in serving the long-haul , subsea , metro , and data centre interconnect markets across the globe .

What are your strengths and abilities that you bring to the above role ?

Chris has been in the industry for over 30 years , starting his career at Nortel . He has worked with both vendors and service providers alike , including working extensively with subsea and terrestrial network providers .

These include eight years based in Dubai running the Middle East and Africa business for GCX , and six years

as the Chief Commercial Officer at Aqua Comms . Having worked on the service provider side , he prides himself on having a great understanding of customers ’ needs and challenges .

Please describe the expectations of the end customers that you address . What are their pain points today ?

Customers expect speed and efficiency in the network , and Ciena is working closely with service providers to build adaptive and energy-efficient networks that address the surging bandwidth demands throughout Saudi Arabia and the wider region .

Ciena ’ s technology is instrumental in futureproofing the country ’ s infrastructure investments , including the rapid expansion of 5G , Artificial Intelligence and other big data applications .

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