Paying homage to Harald Bock

Harald Bock, described by an optical networking executive as one of the great people of our industry, has died. Former colleagues describe the man and their sense of loss

Harald Bock

Those who knew and worked with Harald Bock have been stunned by his sudden passing at 55. For them, Harald was a valued and much-admired friend, a deep thinker who made his views heard, quietly yet powerfully.

Last February, Harald changed jobs, becoming chief product officer at Ekinops after six years at Infinera. He was excited by the role and enjoyed his introductory period travelling to Ekinops' sites, meeting colleagues and customers, and working on the company’s strategy.

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Books of 2024: Part 1

Gazettabyte asks industry figures to pick their notable reads during the year. Harald Bock, Jonathan Homa, and Maxim Kuschenrov kick off with their chosen books.

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Harald Bock, Vice President Network Architecture, Infinera

I love reading but have not read as many books as I would have liked in recent years. I decided to change that in 2024.

My pick of fictional books this year was mainly classic science fiction after seeing the movie Dune Part 2 with my family. I read the book Dune by Frank Herbert, published in 1965, a while ago, and I wasn't sure that the movies did the book justice.

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OFC 2024 industry reflections: Final part

In the final part, Chris Cole, Ranovus' Hojjat Salemi, and Infinera's Harald Bock share their thoughts about the revent OFC show. 

Chris Cole, Consultant

OFC and optics were back with a vengeance. The high level of excitement and participation in the technical and exhibit programmes was fueled by artifical intelligence/ machine learning (AI/ML). To moderate this exuberance, a few reality checks are offered.

During the Optica Executive Forum, held on the Monday, one of the panels was with optics industry CEOs. They were asked if AI/ML is a bubble, and all five said no. They are right that there is a real, dramatic increase in optics demand driven by AI/ML, with solid projections showing exponential growth.

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