LINTHICUM, Md. -- Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN - News), the network specialist, today announced the appointment of Richard F. Kent to its Government Advisory Board. Mr. Kent joins other respected senior-level executives and former government officials on the Board, which provides guidance to Ciena on strategically aligning its solutions and services to better serve the unique application requirements of the government marketplace. Mr. Kent currently serves as CEO of Fedforce, LLC, a consultancy specializing in sales and marketing to the enterprise and federal marketplaces. He has more than 25 years of experience with high-technology firms, and has held various senior executive positions at FORE Systems/Marconi including President, Federal Operations and Executive Vice President, Americas. Mr. Kent holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, and holds an MBA from Loyola Sellinger School of Business.

"Ciena is recognized by the government community as the network specialist, because it has the expertise and in-depth knowledge needed to provide government organizations with the flexible, assured and secure platforms they need to run large-scale applications," said Richard Kent. "I'm thrilled to be a part of the Government Advisory Board, and look forward to helping facilitate constructive relationships with our government customers as they embark on demanding network builds."

The Government Advisory Board provides counsel to Ciena Government Solutions, Inc. (CGSI) on the expansion of business with the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as for opportunities with both civilian agencies and research and education organizations. Ciena utilizes the knowledge and insight provided by the Board to drive timely market and technology decisions to fuel the Company's business and product strategies in the complex and growing government market.

"CGSI is increasingly devoted to delivering global network solutions that transform critical infrastructure, provide assured connectivity for strategic applications, and decrease network cost and complexity," said David Peed, vice president and managing director of CGSI. "We are very pleased to have Mr. Kent's expertise and guidance on our Government Advisory Board as we continue to advance our government business."

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN)