Finisar’s Jerry Rawls steps down, Michael Hurlston takes over as CEO

Michael Hurlston has been appointed as CEO and a director of Finisar following the retirement of Jerry Rawls as Chairman and CEO of Finisar. Rawls will continue to serve as a Director of the Company. Finisar’s Lead Director Robert Stephens has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Jerry for his tireless and inspired leadership of Finisar over the past nearly 30 years,” stated Robert Stephens. “Under Jerry’s leadership, Finisar has grown from its founding in Quonset hut in Menlo Park, California to a world-leading optics company with cutting-edge products and approximately $1.4 billion in revenues in its most recently completed fiscal year. We are deeply grateful to Jerry for his innumerable contributions to Finisar’s growth and success to-date and are confident that he has positioned the Company solidly for the great opportunities in our industry today.”

Michael Hurlston most recently served as a Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Mobile Connectivity Products/Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division at Broadcom Limited. Previously, he held senior leadership positions in sales, marketing and general management at Broadcom. Prior to joining Broadcom in 2001, Mr. Hurlston held senior marketing and engineering positions at Oren Semiconductor, Inc., Avasem, Integrated Circuit Systems, Micro Power Systems, Exar and IC Works. Mr. Hurlston is also a Director of Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. and a member of the Board of Advisors of Vilynx Inc. Mr. Hurlston received a B.S.E.E., an M.S.E.E. and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Davis.