F5 Networks Appoints New CEO
F5 Networks will have a new leader starting in April with the appointment of François Locoh-Donou as president and CEO.
Locoh-Donou, currently chief operating officer at Ciena, will replace longtime chief executive John McAdams who is retiring as of April 3, according to a F5 statement.
"[McAdams] and I bring a shared commitment to grow F5's people, partnerships, product and services portfolio, in response to the increasing cloud and security demands of F5's customers," said Locoh-Donou, in the statement.
Locoh-Donou currently serves as senior vice president and COO for networking vendor Ciena.
"His track record at Ciena leading the company’s product development, services, sales, marketing and EMEA teams demonstrate his results," said McAdams in an internal company email.
Locoh-Donou previously held leadership positions at Ciena for over a decade, including senior vice president of the Global Products Group, and vice president and general Manager for Ciena's EMEA business. Prior to Ciena, he held research and development roles with Photonetics, a French opto-electronics company. He also serves on the advisory board of Jhpiego, a non-profit global health affiliate of Johns Hopkins University dedicated to providing high-quality healthcare for women and their families in developing countries.
"At a time when F5 is expanding its partnerships and products into cloud and security markets, François brings a renewed sense of purpose to F5's original vision: applications without constraints," said Al Higginson, chairman of F5's board, in a statement. "We thank John for his 16 years at the helm of F5. The company's success is due in such a large part to his unflagging attention to the needs of F5's employees, customers and shareholders. John turns F5 over to François with considerable momentum already in motion from a return to product revenue growth and a healthy pipeline of new products."