Ruckus Wireless Names Former Verizon and Ericsson Telecom Heavyweights to Its Board, Closes Mezzanine Round of $22 Million

Dick Lynch and Georges Antoun Join Board as Company Capitalizes on Growing Demand for Carrier Wi-Fi, Adds SingTel Innov8 and Meritech Capital Partners as New Investors

Ruckus Wireless has announced that it has secured $21.7 million in financing, increasing the total investment in the company to $72.7 million since its formation in June 2004. In addition, the company named two new industry luminaries, Richard J. Lynch and Georges Antoun, to its board of directors.

Joined by existing investors, the financing was led by two new investors, Meritech Capital Partners and SingTel Innov8, a wholly owned subsidiary of the SingTel group. Profitable and cash flow-positive in calendar year 2011, Ruckus will use the proceeds to expand and fund future growth into the explosive carrier mobile Internet infrastructure market as well as to bolster its rising position in the enterprise wireless LAN market.

“The impact of the mobile Internet is transforming the telecom industry, congealing new and massive opportunities that we have been developing since 2008,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. “The addition of Dick and Georges to our board validates our vision in Wi-Fi/cellular convergence and strengthens our execution in the carrier Wi-Fi market. Dick and Georges represent the top caliber of our industry in experience, technical, business and management savvy, as well as relationships with operators and ecosystem partners. We are honored and excited to have them on our team.”

“We invest in companies with technologies that can potentially enhance the capabilities of the operators within the SingTel Group by delivering solutions across various product segments and verticals,” said Jeff Karras, Managing Director of Investments for SingTel Innov8. “Ruckus is one of these companies and with the changes in the carrier market; we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of them.”

“We believe there is significant growth ahead in the service provider market for a new class of Wi-Fi and small cell solutions,” said Mike Gordon, Partner at Meritech Capital Partners “Ruckus is clearly well-positioned and has a proven record for developing unique technology to capitalise on this emerging market. Their recent service provider wins have already demonstrated this success.”

New Board Members Bring Unmatched Telecom Expertise
Former executive vice president for Verizon Communications, Dick Lynch was responsible for delivering strategic technology initiatives across the corporation. Previously, Lynch was executive vice president and chief technology officer for Verizon Communications and had been the executive vice president and chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless and its predecessors since 1990. Lynch is a Fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He has served on the executive board of the CDMA Development Group (CDG), the board of GSMA, and as a member of the Federal Communications Commission Technical Advisory Committee.

The former head of Ericsson’s product area IP & broadband networks (PAIB) business, Georges Antoun joined Ericsson when it acquired Redback Networks where he was head of sales and marketing and later on, CEO. Previously, Antoun spent five years at Cisco Systems where he served as vice president of worldwide systems engineering and field marketing, vice president of worldwide optical operations, and also served as vice president of carrier sales. Antoun was instrumental in the successful strategy behind Cisco’s entry into the service provider and optical markets.