Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 33 | Page 81

GET TO KNOW... On the lighter side of things, we ask the industry experts what makes them tick. . . . Jamie Jefferies, VP and GM of EMEA, Ciena wWhat would you describe as your most memorable achievement? I moved to the US in 2010 in what was one of the biggest personal and professional decisions I have made. For the first five years, I was working exclusively on the Verizon account, and with a great team we delivered great results by focusing on several key milestones. I then ran strategic accounts in North America where I worked with many of Ciena’s largest customers. Looking back, it was a big decision to move to the States, but I have no regrets. I was fortunate to work with the most talented and dedicated team in the industry. I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished together. What first made you think of a career in technology? I like electronics and at the age of 16 I decided to leave school and joined British Telecom as an apprentice. It gave me the opportunity to work across a range of different fields and opened my eyes to a lot of different opportunities. I ended up going into transmissions and now optics. I guess you could say it was by chance I found myself in this space. What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position? As anyone that knows me will testify, I am all about the team. At Ciena, we have the best people in the industry in terms of professionalism, culture, spirit and qualifications. I firmly believe it is this diversity that builds a great team in any company. My team in EMEA is 70% female leadership, which for many companies in our sector is rare. I am very committed to diversity across all areas and I think spending time on developing and supporting the team is important. It’s something I have perhaps become more tuned into as I have got older. I have two kids that are grown up and I understand how important it is to give them the opportunity to test themselves. What would you say is one of the key trends that has emerged in 2020 and why? The rollout of 5G is here and we are going to start to see more things moving to the Edge “ I LOVE RUNNING AND CYCLING – BUT I’M ALSO A HUGE LIVERPOOL FAN! and become latency orientated. Think of driverless cars and Smart Cities – this type of technology demands real-time connectivity. These new use cases and applications will also start to see the rise in software-centric technology, it will become more important for networks to adapt and adjust ‘on the fly’ to support enormous growth in traffic and changing user needs. www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 81