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Finisar has announced the retirement of its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Rawls, also the co-founder of the company. Michael Hurlston will now be the new Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Effective from January 15, Mr. Hurlston and Mr. Rawls will work together to ensure a smooth transition. While Mr Rawls will also continue to serve as a Director of the company, the Company's Lead Director Robert Stephens has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Michael Hurlston has broad experience as a highly-successful technology industry executive and is expected to be, Finisar’s right choice after an extensive search, to build on the company’s success and market-leading position. The company also thanked Jerry for his tireless and inspired leadership of Finisar over the past nearly 30 years. Under Jerry's leadership, the company grew from its founding in Quonset hut in Menlo Park, California to a world-leading optics company with cutting-edge products and approximately $1.4 billion in revenues in its most recently completed fiscal year.

Commenting on the occasion, Jerry Rawls said that he is thrilled that Michael was going to lead Finisar into the future and that Michael's experience, proven technical skills, and leadership abilities will serve Finisar, its customers, employees, and stockholders very well. He added that, at Finisar, they have built a great company with fantastic employees dedicated to serving customers' needs and developing world-leading, cutting-edge technology products and he is confident that Michael is the right person to lead them to even greater success.

Michael Hurlston most recently served as a Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Mobile Connectivity Products/Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division at Broadcom Limited. Previously, he held senior leadership positions in sales, marketing and general management at Broadcom. Prior to joining Broadcom in 2001, he held senior marketing and engineering positions at Oren Semiconductor, Avasem, Integrated Circuit Systems, Micro Power Systems, Exar and IC Works. He is also a Director of Ubiquiti Networks and a member of the Board of Advisors of Vilynx. Mr. Hurlston received a B.S.E.E., an M.S.E.E. and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Davis.

Speaking on his appointment, Mr. Hurlston said, that he was very excited to join Finisar and lead the great company that Jerry and his fellow employees have built. According to him, Finisar has world-leading products and technology, engineering talent, and manufacturing capabilities and a reputation for excellence in the industry and with its customers. The optical communications and components industry is rapidly advancing and there are many new exciting customer opportunities.