Sphera Optical Networks Promotes Engineering Leadership; Promotions Strengthen Metro Core...

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2001

Sphera Optical Networks, Inc., a leading metro core network provider, today announced the promotions of three of its top engineering and operations management. Rich Van Leeuwen, also the chief technology officer, has been

These individuals serve as the cornerstone of an exceptional engineering and operations team that plans, deploys and manages Sphera's global metro core networks in its expanding regional areas, which currently include: New York/New Jersey, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington DC/Northern Virginia, Amsterdam and London.

"These individuals reinforce Sphera's leadership position in metro networking," said Harold Grossnickle, chairman and CEO of Sphera. "With the increasing need for efficient, high capacity connectivity in metropolitan areas, Sphera's engineering and operations staff is steering our network scaling, rapid provisioning capabilities and advanced network management systems to meet customer requirements."

All three have extensive experience in building and operating both physical networks and the sophisticated support systems and services that provide Sphera's customers with cost-effective, DWDM optical networks and the essential network management tools that extends Sphera's functionality to a customer's network operations.

"John and Ron's years of experience and first rate technology backgrounds become especially important with key partners like ONI Systems, which supplies us with the critical systems platform for our network services," adds Rich Van Leeuwen. "As Sphera grows and provisions the metropolitan space with connectivity at more and more service access locations and adds new features to SpheraCore, our customer network management, we need a team that can scale and operate the finest worldwide networks."

Rich Van Leeuwen joined Sphera in April 2000 with over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. During his career he has held a number of technical and management positions in network development, operations and software systems at Global Crossing and AT&T. Dr. John Pfaff, Ph.D. also joined Sphera in April 2000 and has responsibility for the development of network management, operational support systems (OSS) and business applications solutions. Before Sphera, John was a principal with BusinessEdge Solutions, an operations systems integrator and was with AT&T in various management positions for several years. Ron Toth is heading the engineering group in deploying Sphera's global networks and is charged with developing the best technical solution to support metro services. He came to Sphera with 25 years of experience in data communications, most with AT&T in a broad range of network engineering, product management and systems development positions.

About Sphera Optical Networks

Sphera Optical Networks, headquartered in New York City, is a leading provider of high capacity networks for the metropolitan core using the latest DWDM technology. Providing customers with high capacity networking capabilities on demand, Sphera sets a new industry standard for performance and efficiency by creating an environment of reduced provisioning intervals, expanded network reach, protocol independence, reliability and advanced network management capabilities for carriers, ISPs, ASPs and worldwide service providers.

For additional information, visit the web site, www.spheranetworks.com or contact Aleassa Schambers, Manager, Marketing Communications, Sphera Optical Networks, 666 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, 646-205-4705.