TE Connectivity’s Nathan Tracy was re-elected as President of the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), as the group confirmed the makeup of its 2026 Board of Directors.
The non-profit works to promote interoperability in the optical networking space. The group creates benchmarks and testing offerings for system and component vendors, along with a bevy of technical white papers.
Top of the line for the group will be increasing collaboration amid growing industry demand for higher-speed, lower-power interconnect solutions capable of supporting AI, cloud, and carrier networks.
Joining Tracy on OIF’s 2026 board is Jeffery Maki, a senior distinguished technologist at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), who will serve as vice president, alongside chairing the Physical Layer User Group Working Group.
Alphawave Semi’s Mike Klempa was re-elected and will take on both the Secretary/Treasurer role and chair of the Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Interoperability Working Group, while Ciena’s Ian Betty and Broadcom’s Cathy Liu also remain on the board.
Steven Hand from Nokia and Cisco’s Yi Tang were also appointed to the OIF board to fill open seats created during the 2025/2026 term, with the latter serving as PLL Working Group vice chair.
Officers joining the board include Karl Bois from Nvidia, who will serve as vice chair of the Technical Committee; Tom Issenhuth from Huawei, co-chair of the Market Awareness & Education Committee; and Sam Kocsis from Amphenol, who was elected as chair of the Technical Committee.
“OIF’s board reflects the technical strength and broad industry engagement required as we move into the next phase of electrical and optical innovation,” Tracy said. “As with all OIF leadership roles, these positions are fully volunteer, a testament to the commitment our members bring to advancing interoperable solutions for the industry.
“Their expertise will help drive the interoperability work essential to supporting scale-up and scale-out AI architectures, next-generation cloud growth, and the evolving needs of global network operators.”
Board terms run through September 30, 2026.
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