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Bill Gartner

Senior Vice President/GM

Optical Systems & Optics Group

Bill Gartner is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Optical Systems and Optics business within the Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group. In this role, he leads business strategy and development efforts for Cisco’s multibillion-dollar portfolio that includes Optical Systems, Optics, and next-generation architectures (e.g., Routed Optical Networking) that employ pluggable optics. Bill is known for his passion for technology and vision for groundbreaking solutions that help Service Providers and Webscale customers build world-class networks that maximize capacity, flexibility, scalability, and operational efficiencies – all integral to the Internet for the Future. Bill is also a champion of mentoring and career development of female leaders in technology. Throughout his career, Bill has earned a reputation for building trusted customer and business partnerships, with a focus on growth and innovation. Prior to joining Cisco, Bill was Chief Operating Officer of Meriton Networks (acquired by Xtera Networks). Before that, he served as President and COO of Mahi Networks and COO of Photuris. Previously, he was Vice President and General Manager of Lucent's Optical Networking Systems business, responsible for Metro, Access, and Long Haul DWDM products. His earlier tenure in the industry included roles at AT&T Bell Labs and Paradyne. Bill has served on the boards of OptronX (acquired by JDSU) and CyOptics. Bill holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and an executive master’s degree in Technology Management from University of Pennsylvania/Wharton. He is a University of Pennsylvania Moore Fellow and holds three patents.

Articles

March 21, 2022

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Optics Are the Link to More Sustainable, Reliable Networks

Optical connections transmit information in ways that fundamentally transform network architectures, and pluggable optics can increase your network’s capacity with maximum flexibility. No one knows better than Cisco how optics work in your network and optimize your network investments.

March 1, 2022

SP360: SERVICE PROVIDER

Cisco Brings Innovation and Automation to OFC 2022

Cisco will be live at OFC this year, showcasing its Network as a Sensor, Automation, client optics, pluggable coherent solutions, and Routed Optical Networking solutions

November 9, 2021

3

SP360: SERVICE PROVIDER

Routed Optical Networking – It’s About the Architecture

Routed Optical Networking - This transformational architecture drives network optimization, accelerated time to service, and decreased total cost of ownership

June 3, 2021

SP360: SERVICE PROVIDER

650,000+ Coherent Ports Shipped by Cisco and Acacia

Combining Acacia DSPs with Cisco’s internally developed designs, more than 650,000 coherent ports have been shipped. Learn more at the Cisco OFC virtual booth.

March 31, 2021

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Get Competitive by Simplifying Your Network

Our Cisco Routed Optical Networking solution transforms the economics of the Internet for the Future, where converged solutions integrate optics into any router or switch.

March 1, 2021

2

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Completes Acquisition of Acacia

Cisco completed its acquisition of Acacia Communications, Inc., a company that designs and manufactures high-speed optical interconnect products and technologies. Acacia’s technology is very complementary to Cisco’s optical systems and optics strategy and reinforces its investment in the Internet for the Future with world-class coherent optical solutions for our customers.

February 4, 2021

4

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco to Drive Disaggregation Across Optical Vendor Ecosystem as Part of the Telecom Infra Project Phoenix Initiative

At Cisco, we are committed to powering an inclusive future, and our leadership with Telecom Infra Project (TIP) demonstrates our commitment to the industry to drive and accelerate innovation in IP and optical networks through collaboration, changing the way transport networks are deployed, extending and improving global connectivity.

January 13, 2020

31

SP360: SERVICE PROVIDER

Cisco Makes Waves in Subsea Market

Cisco continues to be a leading optical transport vendor driving the subsea evolution. Learn how our solution is helping our customers keep up with current and future demands with more capacity, longer distance and lower cost per bit.

December 11, 2019

3

SP360: SERVICE PROVIDER

Optics: Fundamental to Build the Internet for the Future

The power of the internet is about to change for good. Read how optics has a critical role in driving the architectural transitions.