CEO Elizabeth Rogan resigns amid investigation of Huawei-Optica ties

News regarding the Huawei-Optica ties investigation states that the CEO of the foundation group has resigned. The step appears as a major turn in the scrutiny of the Chinese OEM relation with the U.S.-based firm and could have major implications.

An internal email seen by Bloomberg, states that the CEO of Optica Group – Elizabeth Rogan has resigned following the investigation on the company’s bond with Huawei.

Going to the flashback, the investigation is made on how far Huawei and Optica’s partnership has affected U.S. security regulations. An early report suggested that the U.S. lawmakers were planning to increase the probe for in-depth information.

Apart from Elizabeth, Chad Stark – another Chief Executive Officer has also left the firm. A familiar person with this matter said the resignation is mainly connected with the Chinese company Huawei. Although he declined to give more details.

New CEO?

Inputs further reveal that the Deputy Executive Director of Optica Group and Foundation -Elizabeth Nolan could serve as the temporary CEO of the company.

It seems Elizabeth doesn’t want to be a part of this investigation anymore. She has been through several questions on this matter. Though the CEO mentioned that Huawei and Optica’s bond didn’t affect U.S. security, the lawmakers continued to investigate.

The story began when Huawei-Optica’s cooperation came to light. Despite being banned by the U.S., the Chinese OEM has been funding the Optica Foundation since 2022. It quietly promoted research competition to award millions of dollars to top university researchers. Although it’s a risky bond, as per the U.S. lawmakers.

U.S. authorities believe that “accepting and anonymizing funds from a sanctioned Chinese company is wholly inappropriate.” Both Huawei and the Optica CEO ensured that their bond didn’t exploit any regulation. But the reasons weren’t satisfactory for the U.S. government and they initiated a scrutiny on this matter.

Following the investigation, Optica planned to return Huawei funds and reviewed its policies for better transparency. However, the situation doesn’t seem to be good for now. Let’s wait and see how this matter proceeds in the upcoming weeks.

[Source – Bloomberg]