Finisar Co-Founder to retire
Jerry Rawls to step down 30 years after founding the company
Finisar, a developer of subsystems and components for fibre optic communications, has announced that chairman and CEO Jerry Rawls intends to retire as CEO by the end of 2018.
"Jerry's decision to retire as CEO of Finisar caps a remarkable business career and chapter in the company's history," said Robert Stephens, Finisar's lead director. "We are deeply grateful to Jerry for his innumerable contributions to Finisar's growth and success. Jerry co-founded the company nearly 30 years ago in a Quonset hut in Menlo Park, California.
Under Jerry's leadership, Finisar went public in 1999 and has grown to be one of the world's top optics companies, with industry leading revenues of more than $1.4 billion during its most recent fiscal year. While his leadership will be missed, Jerry has placed Finisar on solid ground to continue to build on its success and market-leading position."
"I'd like to thank everyone at Finisar for helping build the company into the great company it is today," said Rawls. "Finisar is a strong company with fantastic employees dedicated to serving our customers' needs and developing world leading, cutting edge technology products. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and I am confident that Finisar will continue on its successful path."
