OptXCon Names Michael Cirella Vice President of Marketing

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 16 -- OptXCon Inc. (pronounced Op-tix-con), an emerging player in all optical cross-connect technologies for metropolitan area, access and enterprise networks, announced that Michael Cirella has been named vice president of marketing. Cirella will play the lead role in developing and implementing the company's market and product strategies.
    Cirella has nearly 30 years experience in high technology companies including SDL, Melles Griot, Pirelli Optical Systems, Lasertron and Polaroid Corp., holding positions in sales, marketing, general management, engineering and manufacturing. He was an integral part of the early pioneering development and deployment of DWDM systems at Pirelli using 980 nm pumped EDFA's in long-haul fiber optic transmission applications. Most recently, he was vice president of worldwide sales at SDL prior to its acquisition by JDS Uniphase.
    "Michael's extensive experience in the fiber optic and telecommunication industries will be invaluable as we further develop the product line and begin to grow our customer base," said Don Bouchard, president and CEO of OptXCon. "He is a seasoned professional with an established track record of building successful product strategies and complements our world-class team."
    OptXCon, which closed its first round of funding in December with $12.2 million in equity financing, is developing liquid crystal-based, all-optical (transparent) cross-connect systems that switch any input optical fiber to any output fiber and eliminate the opto-electronic conversion that many products today must perform. Removing the conversion from an electronic signal to a photonic signal saves the expense of transmitters and associated electronics, significantly reduces power requirements and makes OptXCon's products more accommodating for forthcoming networking technologies.