Leading Lights Winners: The Pictures

What could be more fun than to network with a few hundred people in a planetarium on the shores of a major lake, have drinks and dinner, and then hand out some awards? Especially when the room is full of sponge footballs that can be thrown at the winners as they pick up their trophies...

So in the name of fun, that's what we did at The Adler Planetarium in Chicago on the evening of June 17, where Light Reading handed out 16 Leading Lights awards, and announced this year's Hall of Fame inductees. (See Leading Lights Awards 2014: The Winners and Light Reading Hall of Fame 2014.)

To find out who picked up this year's awards, click on the photo below and then work your way through the slideshow. All pictures by Light Reading art director Sasha Babarina.

Best New Product (Telecom)

Ciena senior VP of Product Marketing Rick Dodd (left) battles his way to collect the Best New Product (Telecom) award from Light Reading CEO Steve Saunders (right) as balls of multiple sizes join him on stage. Meanwhile, Light Reading Editor-in-Chief Ray Le Maistre makes a futile attempt to catch one of the balls in his mouth... Ciena won the award for its WaveLogic Photonics solution.

— The Staff, Light Reading