Siklu, a supplier of mmWave radio equipment, appointed former Telit and Ericsson executive Ronen Ben-Hamou (pictured) as its new CEO, as it looks to grow its presence in the 5G hardware market.

In a statement, Siklu co-founder and chairman Izik Kirshenbaum said Ben-Hamou’s more than 20 years of experience commercialising new technologies and working with tier-one operators make him “uniquely qualified to lead Siklu to the next level in the growing market of 5G mmWave solutions”.

“Ronen understands what creates success in the telecom industry,” he said.

Ben-Hamou previously served as EVP of Products and Solutions, as well as head of global R&D at Telit. He also held roles as COO and head of modem R&D at Ericsson; SVP and GM of thin modem solutions at ST-Ericsson (before its dissolution in 2013); and VP and GM of Infineon Technologies’ entryphone business.

He will take over from Eyal Assa, who served as CEO since April 2017.

Operating in the 60GHz to 80GHz range, Siklu’s equipment is primarily used for fixed wireless access, smart city deployments and wireless backhaul.

Last month, the company announced it would integrate Facebook’s Terragraph technology into its 60GHz product line to boost adoption of the mesh network system.