Rafael Francis

Senior Director Product Line Management, Solutions at Ciena

Speaker

Rafael Francis has over 20 years of experience in networking & telecommunications and is currently the Senior Director of Solution Architecture at Ciena. In this role, he leads his team in defining next-generation solutions and strategy.

Prior to joining Ciena, Rafael was the VP of Product Management for Cyan Inc., where he was responsible for Cyan’s Z-Series packet-optical portfolio and Blue Planet SDN software, including its initial launch. He also held product management leadership positions at ECI Telecom, Laurel Networks, and FORE Systems. His knowledge and contributions in next-generation networking and its business applications have been demonstrated through various conference speaking engagements and articles.

Rafael has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.