F5 Networks CEO and President John McAdam, thrust back into that role in late 2015 under unusual circumstances, has announced that Ciena SVP and COO Francois Locoh-Donou will succeed him on April 3.
F5 New F5 President & CEO Francois Locoh-Donou
McAdam joined F5 in 2000 and served as CEO and President until July 2015, when he handed the reins to Manuel Rivelo. But Rivelo stepped down in December of that year for unspecified personal conduct issues, and McAdam jumped back into the fray at the Seattle company, which he has helped to build into an application delivery powerhouse generating about $2B in annual revenue.
In a letter to employees posted on the F5 website, McAdam writes: "This announcement has been a long time coming, but I believe that as you get to know François you will understand why he has been worth the wait."
McAdam goes on to laud the versatile Locoh-Donou for his engineering and business background, and for having "spent nearly two decades building a wide range of products, teams and operations around the world." McAdam also praises Locoh-Donou's social entrepreneurship support in his home country of Togo and his work on maternal health issues in developing countries.
Locoh-Donou will take leadershop of F5 at a time when the company is pushing hard into the cloud and security markets, including via a slew of new products and services announced earlier this month.
