CIO
Craig Williams

SVP & CIO

Ciena

Craig Williams

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SectorTelecommunications

Employees6,000+

Revenue$3.53 billion

HQHanover

About the Company

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Craig Williams

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We approached transformation at our growing company by rethinking the entire IT infrastructure so that our employees could work anywhere, anytime, on any device.

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Craig's Transformation journey

Craig Williams has a mission to make IT a competitive advantage to Ciena. This means getting employees what they need to be successful for the purpose of what they were hired to do. IT has enabled a work-from-anywhere culture, a cloud-first environment for all applications and tools, and a rich collaboration toolset that makes the world feel smaller. This focus on digital transformation has created a consistent user experience, faster collaboration, and improved analytics for business decision-making. Now that transformation foundations are set, the team is focused on business process re-engineering programs meant to quicken critical business decisions and go-to-market strategies.

LESSONS LEARNED

Talent is Ciena’s #1 operating priority. It’s not just about hiring, developing, and retaining talent. It’s about the types of people Ciena employs. Craig refers to them as PHDs- people with Passion, Heart, and Drive. 

PHDs take risks, are never satisfied, and challenge each other—all critical attributes in digital transformation.