ITEM 5.02 - DEPARTURE OF DIRECTORS OR CERTAIN OFFICERS; ELECTION OF DIRECTORS; APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN OFFICERS; COMPENSATORY ARRANGEMENTS OF CERTAIN OFFICERS

(d) Effective June 30, 2020, the Board of Directors of Ciena Corporation ("Ciena") increased the size of the Board to ten directors and appointed Hassan M. Ahmed, Ph.D. to fill the newly created vacancy in Class III of the Board. The term of office for Class III directors expires at Ciena's 2021 Annual Meeting of stockholders, and Dr. Ahmed will stand for election at that time. Also effective June 30, 2020, Dr. Ahmed was appointed to serve on both the Compensation Committee and the Governance and Nominations Committee of the Board.

Dr. Ahmed, age 62, most recently served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Affirmed Networks, which was acquired by Microsoft in April 2020. Before founding Affirmed Networks in 2010, he was a senior advisor at Charles River Ventures. From 1998 to 2008, Dr. Ahmed served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sonus Networks. Prior to that time, he served in various executive roles at Ascend Communications, Cascade Communications and Analog Devices. He also served as President and founder of WaveAccess, and founded and served as director of the VLSI Systems Group of Motorola Codex. Dr. Ahmed previously served as Associate Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering and Associate Professor of Finance at Boston University. Dr. Ahmed holds a BSEE and MSAE from Carleton University and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

The Board also approved the grant, effective as of July 1, 2020, of a restricted stock unit award to Dr. Ahmed representing shares of Ciena common stock with a target delivered value of approximately $166,356. The amount of the award reflects Ciena's standard compensation program for initial equity awards to new directors, pro-rated based on the date of election by the Board. Provided Dr. Ahmed continues his service on the Board, the restricted stock unit award will vest in its entirety on September 20, 2021. In connection with his service on the Board of Directors, Dr. Ahmed will also be entitled to the standard non-employee director compensation arrangements as set forth under the heading "Director Compensation" in Ciena's most recent proxy statement filed with the SEC.

A copy of the press release announcing the appointment of Dr. Ahmed to Ciena's Board of Directors is furnished as Exhibit 99.1.




ITEM 9.01 - FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(d)     The following exhibits are being filed herewith:

        Exhibit Number             Description of Document

        Exhibit 99.1                 Press Release dated July 1, 2020 issued by Ciena Corporation,
                                   announcing the appointment of Dr. Ahmed to Ciena's Board of
                                   Directors.
        Exhibit 104                Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL
                                   document)

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