“Centillium is truly fortunate to have such depth of expertise to draw on as we expand our product offerings into broadband optical access” said Pereira. “A key ingredient in the success of a new business unit is the strength and expertise of the leadership team. Having a group of industry experts like ours will enable us to guide this dynamic and innovative business unit to a new level of success. With Babu Jain, Dr. Kurumada and Bernd Hesse on board, Centillium has the type of innovative team it takes to lead the market.”

Babu Jain, Vice President of Engineering
Jain has an extensive background in semiconductor and optical technology developments. As the Vice President of Engineering for the Optical Business Unit, Jain is responsible for its global engineering organization. Prior to joining Centillium, Jain served as Vice President of Optical Networking Systems Engineering for Infineon Technologies North America, where he directed the development of leading-edge optical networking devices. He also created system solutions for optical devices, supported numerous leading customers worldwide and was part of the Infineon acquisition of Catamaran Communications.

Dr. Katsuhiko Kurumada, Chief Architect
Appointed to the role of Chief Architect, photonic switching pioneer Dr. Katsuhiko Kurumada will help shape the company’s optical product portfolio. Dr. Kurumada started his career at NTT Electrical Communication Laboratories, where he held several leadership positions, including Optical Semiconductor Section Head and Department Director in charge of the development of optical devices for the NTT network. Prior to joining Centillium, Dr. Kurumada was with NTT Electronics Corporation where he led the development of new types of adaptive photonic switching devices with applications in optical access networks. Dr. Kurumada has received numerous awards including the Institute of Electronics’ Yonezawa Memorial Award for innovation in the area of new semiconductor devices. He has received more than 50 patents.

Bernd Hesse, Director of Product Line Management
Tasked with driving the business units’ day-to-day marketing and business development, Hesse also brings global experience along with an extensive background in the area of optical networking and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). Prior to assuming his post at Centillium, he held a variety of senior marketing and business development positions with industry heavyweights Cisco Systems, Ericsson and Phillips Communications Industry AG. While at Cisco, Hesse participated in the development and implementation of the company’s SONET/SDH market strategy in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. As Director of Business Development/Marketing for Ericsson Fiber Access Division, he was responsible for the company’s PON – FTTH marketing strategy and managed the firm’s successful implementation of Deutsche Telekom’s FTTH deployment.

About Centillium’s Optical Business Unit
Centillium’s Optical Business Unit is leveraging the company’s expertise in mixed-signal system-on-chip (SoC) technology to enable first-mile optical broadband networks with products that target the emerging fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) market. The business unit will deliver solutions that offer higher-integration, broader functionality, smaller footprints and lower power consumption for both central office (CO) and customer premises equipment (CPE). These products include optical transceivers to control the bi-directional traffic on a fiber cable; FTTP chipsets to manage the high-speed protocols between the CO and the CPE terminals; and broadband service processors to facilitate in-premises networking and delivery of voice, video and data to the end-users.