MILPITAS, Calif. -- Big Bear Networks, an optical networking startup whose products will help communication system vendors build more effective and profitable service delivery into their next-generation carrier equipment, has named Mark Thompson president and chief executive officer.Thompson joins Big Bear Networks after two years as vice president and general manager of Tyco Electronics Corporation's Power Components Division. As Big Bear's first CEO he will spearhead development of the company's 10- and 40-gigabit-per-second electro-optical module and subassembly products in the emerging technology area of "photronic signal processing." Big Bear was founded in June 2000, with its initial core team of engineers coming from Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks and Texas Instruments. The company raised $20 million in its initial round of private funding from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital. A second round of financing is expected to close this fall. Big Bear Networks