I'm not following the reasoning for such a negative slant on this job change for Ron Martin. Things did not work out at ADVA, so he changed jobs. It's one job. He has a much longer history and solid track record at Cisco and Fujitsu, which point to longevity not beholden to many other people in this industry. From the wording of the article of "ex" this and "ex" that, it seems like he is being made out as a job hopper. I'd like to place his "ex" list against others on this board to see how they fare. As I recall he only has 3 ex's in 15 years. Correct me if I am wrong.
I have 5 ex's in the same period (not all of them my doing). So, I'm out!
I don't know Ron or his resume' beyond what you say, but I'd like to put the thought out that perhaps selling optical systems is not likely to be a big resume builder FOR ANYONE for a long time to come. Fujitsu's SONET presence in NA cannot be denied and there may be nothing like that ever again. But that magic doesn't rub off these days...
Now you've got the huawei-zation of the industry & I don't see any distinguishing optical technologies here (packet optical- yea .. whatever, no new optics here). There's no profits to enable the product development. Gov't BB'd policy influence gonna start fixing the price points.
I suppose a NEM corporate warrior these days can pin their hopes on being the one to ride the 100G Ethernet horse, or perhaps the now technologically ill-defined 10G PON? yea- V.P. of Sales at 60 YRS old (i hope your healthcare plans stay good my warriors)
I can't judge Martin's sucess from Cisco. Cisco was never going to be a big Optical shop as long as the industry was pulling in 30% or less GROSS margins during his tenure. I don't think it would have been much different with other people in charge. Today I think optical in Cisco is right where they want it to be - Posses an optical solution that enables end-to-end deals, but not enough to hurt the company bottom line. That doesn't mean the Pirelli deal was wise or required (hindsight)!!
Anyway, you're correct that his reputation is one that was built on the Fujitsu empire with the RBOCs. Some poeple don't realize that a company deeply embedded with the RBOCs is not made into one, it's born and raised into one. He certainly excelled on that front.
I guess the proof is in the pudding with Infinera. If he can turn up some tier 1 wins, then all is vindicated.
I think the issue is that Ron had a very big reputation coming out of Fujitsu. He was brought into Cisco to make them a big player in Optical and then didn't. He then goes to Adva and is unable to get them any big business in the US - which should be his speciality (He is the king of SONET in the RBOCs right?).
After two rather lackluster performances, one begins to wonder if the original success had much to do with Mr. Martin or whether he just rode a real nice horse. He seems to be able to sell companies on his Rolodex and Fujitsu success - which at this point was a rather long time ago.
Is he the optical guy that everyone wants? Or is everyone just getting sick of him after a few months?
The journeyman label can cut both ways.
ph