Rick Hamilton is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Blue Planet Software, a division
of Ciena. Mr. Hamilton is responsible for Ciena’s Blue Planet software platform and global services
organization, including consulting and support services for designing, deploying, managing, and
maintaining communications networks.

Hamilton has led Blue Planet Software since its incorporation as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ciena in
2019. Ciena created this separate division to drive added focus on a key element of its Adaptive Network
strategy, and to enable greater business independence, including with respect to Blue Planet’s practices,
go-to-market strategy, customer engagement and commercial model.

Before joining Cisco, Hamilton was Senior Vice President and CIO of The DFS Group (a division of LVMH
Group), a luxury retailer catering to the traveling audience. Previously, he led the Applications and
Technology Services team that serviced 135 stores throughout the United States for Cost Plus World
Market, and he led the applications development team for Discovery Channel’s consumer division.

Hamilton holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from the University of Phoenix and a master’s
degree in software engineering from Golden Gate University. A licensed commercial pilot and flight
instructor, he also holds an undergraduate degree in aeronautics.