Seattle, Washington, United States
As President and CEO of F5, I have the privilege of leading a global team committed to building a better digital world by securing every app—on premises, in the cloud, or at the edge. Raised in Togo, I am also the co-founder and chairman of Cajou Espoir. This cashew processing business employs several hundred people, mostly women, in my home country.
I was appointed F5 President, CEO, and a member of the Board of Directors in 2017, bringing to the office nearly two decades of enterprise technology experience building a wide range of products, teams, and operations around the world. In 2026, I became Chairman of the Board.
I was appointed F5 President, CEO, and a member of the Board of Directors in 2017, bringing to the office nearly two decades of enterprise technology experience building a wide range of products, teams, and operations around the world.
Cajou Espoir is a cashew-processing facility that employs several hundred people in rural Togo, 80 percent of whom are women. Cajou Espoir exports more than 400 tons of cashew kernels annually to the U.S. and Europe.
Served as COO during the acquisition of Cyan, a leading provider of next-generation software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) solutions. Led an organization which made up approximately 90% of Ciena’s global workforce at the time with functions spanning global Sales and Services, R&D/engineering, supply chain and procurement, product line management, and quality/customer advocacy.
Responsible for Ciena’s global technology and product innovation engine, which included R&D, product line management, supply chain, procurement and quality. Increased Ciena’s global market share in optical networking from 14% to 17%, while reducing R&D expenditure to less than 18% of revenue. Drove design and supplier cost reduction efforts to improve Ciena’s operating leverage. Led significant strategic investments in packet networking. Established a Technology Awards program to induct Ciena Fellows and Distinguished Engineers whose innovations have helped transform the industry and establish Ciena as an industry leader.
Held P&L responsibility. Grew revenue and profit at 4 times the market rate over a 6-year period. Led an organization that grew from 70 to 450 employees, and created better alignment across all functions, including Sales, Services, Marketing, Finance, IT and Legal.