Press Releases
Ruckus Wireless CEO Named Private Company "Industry Statesman of the Year"
Leading Light Award Recognizes Ms. Selina Lo for Quality Leadership, Technology Vision, and Financial Acumen, Despite Quirks
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, December 15, 2005 – Ruckus Wireless, Inc., today announced that its president and CEO, Ms. Selina Lo, was honored as the "Industry Statesman of the Year" for a privately-held company by Light Reading magazine at its prestigious Leading Lights annual awards program in New York City last night. Ms. Lo becomes the first woman to win the award.
Judged by Light Reading editors as well as top industry analysts, the Leading Lights awards recognize people and companies for outstanding achievements in the telecom industry.
"With Selina's drive, Ruckus has arguably achieved a great deal in a very short period of time," said Stephen Saunders, president of Light Reading. "In less than 18 months, Selina drove Ruckus to develop the first Wi-Fi system optimized for IPTV, struck a licensing deal with NETGEAR and inked its first carrier customer, PCCW in Hong Kong. This is her classic M.O. And it's paying off."
Most recognized for her in-your-face management style, anxiety-ridden pace and obsession with challenging conventional wisdom, Ms. Lo was singled out for her ability to accurately identify and successfully capitalize on new market opportunities.
Ms. Lo is widely acknowledged for her expertise in building and marketing high technology networking startups. In her most recent venture - Alteon WebSystems - Lo's leadership in market and category creation helped the company to an initial public offering and ultimately to a purchase by Nortel Networks in July 2000 for US $7.8 billion.
"Selina Lo is one of the most amazing talents I have ever had the pleasure to be associated with, and I have had the pleasure to work with her in several roles in several companies. She is a truly gifted strategist. She knows instinctively what the right strategy is to follow. When coupled with her enormous energy, intellect and her ability to persuade diverse constituents such as engineers, marketing, sales, customers and partners, she is truly a potent force. She deserves many honors, but I must say that I was surprised that she would be honored as an "industry statesman." Selina is not that diplomatic, and no one who has ever seen her could possibly confuse her for a man," joked Dan Warmenhoven, CEO of Network Appliance.
"Selina has a rare combination of technology savvy and market timing," said Patrick Lo, president and CEO of NETGEAR. "When she truly believes in something, she is relentless in her pursuit of success. Her enthusiasm and drive for success in business is only matched by her passion for perfection."
Ruckus Wireless recently announced that it had developed the first in-home Wi-Fi system capable of reliably transporting digital TV signals over standard Wi-Fi throughout the home. According to many analysts, in-home networking has become one of the biggest unresolved problems facing the rollout and delivery of new digital broadband services to consumers.
"I just wanted to add a plasma TV into my bedroom without going broke or crazy," said Ms. Lo, recalling why she got involved with the two founding engineers, Bill Kish and Victor Shtrom. "That trauma convinced me that consumer electronics and networking were converging faster than most people realized. The impact of this collision will be huge. We want to make the convergence of consumer electronics and broadband Internet transparent and painless for the consumer. It's that simple."
According to Light Reading Ms. Lo gets the 'stateswoman' call for repositioning Ruckus and giving it an ambitious edge in developing high-speed 802.11 customer-premise equipment for the progressive "quad-play" carrier market. Ms. Lo is the type of woman who steps into the room and takes charge.
"Selina lives for the chase and, believe me, she is a fast runner," said Dominic Orr, chairman of the board of Ruckus Wireless and Aruba Networks and former president and CEO of Alteon WebSystems. "Everything she does is focused on adding value to her customers. She is relentless in her drive to lead the pack. Even though this is her first time as CEO, everyone who's ever worked with her or who knows her understands that, in some strange way, they still report to her."