Jürgen Hatheier

Jürgen Hatheier is Vice President of Business Development and Chief Technology Officer for Global Partnerships at Ciena. In this dual role, he drives growth across Ciena’s global interconnect and partner ecosystem and represents the company’s innovation efforts with partners and industry leaders worldwide.

Previously, Jürgen served as Ciena’s Chief Technology Officer for International (EMEA & APAC), where he led the company’s regional technology strategy and customer engagement across some of the world’s most dynamic markets. He is a visionary leader with a reputation for bridging innovation and business outcomes and helping to establish Ciena as a trusted technology partner for service providers, data center operators, cloud providers, and governments across the globe.

Today, Jürgen combines that extensive international experience with a focus on accelerating innovation and new revenue opportunities in the artificial intelligence (AI) and interconnect domain. He works closely with cloud providers, OEMs, ODMs, and service providers to enable next-generation optical and data center connectivity—empowering Ciena’s customers to scale efficiently in the AI era.

A recognized thought leader and frequent keynote speaker, Jürgen is passionate about how AI is transforming networks and reshaping the economics of global connectivity. His work centers on building intelligent, adaptive infrastructure that delivers sustainable, high-performance connectivity at global scale.

With more than two decades of experience across North America, Europe, and Asia, Jürgen brings a deep understanding of software, hardware, and network operations. Before joining Ciena, he held executive leadership roles in product management and R&D at ARRIS and Technetix, where he delivered innovative solutions for tier-1 network operators worldwide.

He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Economics from Johannes Kepler University Linz and a Bachelor’s degree from HTBLA Leonding in Austria.