HERE'S WHY DR. LEBBY IS GONE:
Let's look at the facts first:
1. They have been working on the 200x4 PIC for 2 years
2. The board didn't award Dr Lebby's full bonus for 2023 work -- meaning he failed to meet objectives. One of the objectives for 2023 - a technology transfer - STILL has not been met.
3. May ASM was very disappointing, and Marcelli was pissed - probably at some things Dr Lebby said.
4. Marcelli was so upset he did 4 things:
....4a) Yelled at a valuable shareholder immediately after the ASM, blaming him for the price drop
....4b) Tried to downplay it by putting out a PR a week later affirming timelines
....4c) Started a rumor implying working with Nvidia and touting multiple deals by year end
....4d) In July Yves was brought on board
5). Still no PIC by November, and no deals
6). Dr Lebby announces no deal in 2024 - and to look for 2025
7). Dr Lebby resigned without staying on board even as a consultant
Here's what I believe happened:
1. Tier1s would not and will not sign a deal unless the 200x4 PIC is ready, and it is still NOT ready despite what Proto has to say about it. Dr Lebby said at ASM they got a single lane but are still working on 4 lane. This isn't debatable.
2. Marcelli really runs the show He was really worried after the ASM in late May and he was mad at Dr Lebby. He tried to calm the waters but decided that if there was no deal by year end - ie no PIC still - he would have to fire Dr Lebby or get the board to do so - and they would have grounds since Dr Lebby had not achieved many of his goals. To prepare he brought Yves on board in case Dr Lebby couldn't deliver by year end. Marcelli knew that shareholders don't like him so he put the pressure on Dr Lebby.
3. Dr Lebby was forced out basically because Marcelli knew that if year end came with no deal - the rumor he created in July would put a lot of pressure on himself -- so Dr Lebby took the fall.
This wasn't a matter of Dr Lebby being a poor salesman probably - the PIC likely is a REQUIREMENT of the transceiver companies. No PIC - no 800gbps. Remember Dr Lebby said the Tier1s were DRAGGING Lightwave...but there was nothing he could do - he was at the mercy of his scientists. And Marcelli. Sure enough, just weeks after he told shareholders there would be no deal in 2024 Dr Lebby was GONE.
We KNOW there is no PIC. We KNOW the industry wants the PIC. Dr Lebby told us this at the ASM when he was talking about slide 29. THE missing PIC and Marcelli wanting to stay in charge are the reasons Dr Lebby was forced out.
YVES can't speed up the PIC. The narrative here is WRONG. Proto once again is full of baloney.
This is la la land now because it is dependent on a PIC that is now 2 years and counting in development. No wonder Dr Lebby said simply "2025", and repeated even in his last interview a few days ago when asked about challenges: "this is difficult".
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AI
