LONDON -- CIENA Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN), a global provider of intelligent optical networking systems and software, today announced an increased commitment to its European business, opening a state-of-the-art customer demonstration facility and adding several executives to the regional management team.The new facility is designed to provide live simulations of end-to-end intelligent optical network provisioning for customers. The customer demo lab is located in CIENA's new, expanded London office, home of the company's European headquarters.The announced regional appointments include Steve Whipps, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sales. In addition to Whipps, the new European team members include:
* Justo Montero, director-general, southern Europe; formerly managing director, marketing and strategy, Spain and Portgual, for Nortel Networks; and
* Bernard Plaisant, global account director; formerly a global vicepresident at Nortel Networks."This experienced group of sales professionals bolsters the existing support in EMEA and enhances CIENA's position as the preferred supplier of optical solutions to new and incumbent carriers in the region," said Rafael de Ory, CIENA's managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. "Furthermore, the customer demonstration lab provides another effective tool to illustrate to these leading service providers the value and benefits of CIENA's intelligent optical networking solutions."Ciena Corp.