Jagdeep Singh co-founded Infinera Corp.
in 2001 with Drew Perkins and David
Welch, and the optical networking company wasn’t without its problems during this
difficult time. While many companies were
closing up shop, Singh held true to his
vision so that his business would stay
open.
He envisioned changing the networking world by creating a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and developed complete systems based on it, but this would
require him raising private capital during a time when the industry was struggling.
Despite the challenging market, he
moved forward on his vision by hiring
top talent for Infinera. He brought
aboard a chief operating officer and a
vice president of global sales who both
had fantastic track records at successful
networking companies.
Infinera still had many people criticizing it, and this continued until its initial
public offering, when Wall Street
investors clearly embraced the company
by bidding its stock up to more than
double the offering price. Critics finally
admitted that the company’s numbers,
customers and technology were profitable, real and unique.
Success has only continued as PIC is
now the world’s fastest optical chip, and
revenue grew 1,100 percent from 2005 to
2007. As he looks toward the future, this
president and CEO will continue to invest
in innovation and developing differentiated products to help his customers build
more profitable businesses.
HOW TO REACH: Infinera Corp., (408) 572-5200 or
www.infinera.com
