Tom Pardun Board’s Director at Finisar

Finisar Corporation announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Thomas E. Pardun to fill an existing vacancy on the Board.

Morgan Jones of Battery Ventures, who had served as a member of our Board since the completion of the Optium merger in August 2008, previously announced his decision not to stand for re-election at the Company’s annual meeting of stockholders held on November 18, 2009.

Finisar’s Board consists of nine directors who are elected to staggered three-year terms. Mr. Pardun will serve as a director until the annual meeting of stockholders in 2012.

 
Mr. Pardun is currently Chairman of Western Digital Corporation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of hard-disk drives for the personal computer and home entertainment markets. He has served in this capacity from January 2000 until January 2002 and again since April 2007. He worked for 8 years in various positions at MediaOne and its predecessor company U S West, with the most recent being President of MediaOne International Asia-Pacific before retiring in July of 2000. Prior to U S West, he was President of the Central Group for Sprint. Previously, Mr. Pardun held a variety of management positions during a 19-year tenure with IBM, concluding as Director of Product Line Evaluation at IBM’s New York marketing headquarters.

"I am pleased to welcome Tom to our Board," said Jerry Rawls, Finisar’s executive Chairman of the Board. "His background in both high volume manufacturing and the telecommunications industry gives him a valuable perspective from which to guide our company in the years ahead. I would also like to thank Morgan Jones for his service and his valuable contributions following the Optium merger."