[June 13, 2013] Oclaro Chairman and CEO Alain Couder to Retire Tweet Jun 13, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Oclaro, Inc. announced that Alain Couder, the Company's chair and chief executive officer, has retired and that the board of directors has named Greg Dougherty, Oclaro board member, as chief executive officer effective immediately. In a release dated June 7, the Company said that the Company also announced that Marissa Peterson, Oclaro board member, has been elected as chair. "On behalf of the entire board, we thank Alain Couder for his contributions to Oclaro," said Peterson. "Since joining the company in 2007, Alain has played an important role in transforming the company from a small optical component company called Bookham into an industry leader. As we look ahead, Oclaro's new CEO, Greg Dougherty brings significant operational experience in the optical industry. We look forward to working closely with Greg as we navigate through the current challenging financial situation." Couder first joined the Company's predecessor, Bookham, Inc., as CEO in August 2007 and was elected chair of the board in July 2011. Couder led Bookham through its merger with Avanex Corp. to create Oclaro and also led the Company through its merger with Opnext, Inc. in July 2012. Prior to joining Oclaro, Couder was president and CEO of three private companies, a venture advisor to a venture capital company, the chief operating officer of Agilent Technologies and held various positions over the years with Packard-Bell NEC, Groupe Bulle, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Dougherty, has served as an Oclaro board member since 2009. Prior to Oclaro, Dougherty served as a director of Avanex Corp. from April 2005 to April 2009, when Avanex and Bookham merged to create Oclaro. Dougherty has served as a director of Picarro, Inc., a manufacturer of ultra-sensitive gas spectroscopy equipment using laser-based technology, since October 2002. He also served as Picarro's CEO from 2002 through 2003. Dougherty served on the board of directors of the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford from January 2004 until 2011. From February 2001 until September 2002, Dougherty was the chief operating officer of JDS Uniphase Corp., an optical technology company. Prior to JDS, he was the chief operating officer of SDL, Inc. from March 1997 to February 2001 when they were acquired by JDS. From 1989 to 1997, Dougherty was the director of product management and marketing of Lucent Technologies Microelectronics in the Optoelectronics Strategic Business Unit. Peterson who has served as an Oclaro board member since 2011, brings to the chair position her knowledge in the areas of operations, strategy, and customer relations, as well as experience as a senior executive of a large, complex and well-respected technology company. Peterson was formerly executive vice president, worldwide operations, services and customer advocacy of Sun Microsystems Inc., until her retirement in 2006 after 17 years with the company. From August 2008 to present, Peterson has served as a director of Humana Inc. From August 2006 to present, she has served as a director for Ansell Limited. Peterson currently seres as a director of Quantros, Inc. She previously served as a director of Supervalu Inc. and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, and served on the board of trustees of Kettering University. Oclaro, Inc. is a provider of lasers and optical components, modules and subsystems for the optical communications, industrial, and consumer laser markets. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]