Summary
1. The stepping down of Opnext CEO, Harry Bosco, could be an indication of the company more or less settling down in terms of aggressively looking for new business opportunities. 2. It has a lot on its plate, particularly with its focus on high-end optics. 3. There will not be as much of a need for wheeling and dealing nor for slaps on the back – it now comes down to implementation.
Analysis
It was probably not a coincidence that the replacement of Opnext’s CEO was announced at the same time as the company finished its acquisition of StrataLight. While there will undoubtedly be more startups (as well as further consolidation) on the optical component levels for 40G and 100G, the main module players for 40G and 100G have been established. Now it is all about Opnext striving to execute more effectively than Finisar, Mintera, etc. Opnext has become a formidable competitor and it has pretty much taken advantage of Bosco’s widespread connections.
Apparently, Gilles Bouchard has been waiting in the wings. He was effectively running the company anyway. Bouchard will be helped greatly by the promotion of Shri Dodani (former head of StrataLight) to President, Subsystems.
During his stint as head of Opnext, it is fair to say that Bosco somewhat rehabilitated his image resulting from his days at Lucent. However, there is some irony given his involvement at high-end optics at Opnext because when he was at Lucent, there was difficulty in getting to 10G.
