SAN JOSE, Calif. -- ONI Systems Corp. (Nasdaq:ONIS), a leading provider of optical telecommunications systems for the metropolitan and regional markets, today announced the promotion of Rusty Cumpston from executive vice president of Engineering and Operations to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO). Cumpston has been with ONI since September 1998 and has successfully built up the company's engineering, operations and infrastructure. In his new role, Cumpston will continue to report to Hugh Martin, chairman, president and chief executive officer, and will continue to be responsible for Engineering, Operations and the Lightwave Design Centers, and will take on the additional responsibilities of Human Resources, Information Technology and Legal Affairs. Separately, Chris Davis, executive vice president, chief financial and administrative officer, is leaving ONI to join McLeodUSA as its chief operating and financial officer and to become a special limited partner in Forstmann Little & Co. Ken Burckhardt, vice president of Finance, will act as ONI's interim chief financial officer (CFO). "The appointment of Rusty as COO positions our management team to grow ONI into a much larger company. We and our customers have depended on Rusty's strong engineering and operations management capabilities for the past three years, as we've built a strong company and a strong product line in an industry where technological change comes rapidly. His technical background and broad experience in telecommunications makes him ideally suited for ONI's COO role. Rusty understands the `fabric' of our company and its relationship to the industry," said Martin. ONI Systems Inc.