Sonia Bessette

Sonia Bessette is an accomplished legal professional with extensive experience in various corporate legal roles. As Assistant General Counsel at Ciena since October 2012, Sonia provides legal counsel to senior leadership on strategic and operational people-related issues, and previously held the positions of Corporate Counsel and Senior Corporate Counsel. Prior to Ciena, Sonia served as Senior Corporate Counsel at Avaya Canada Corp, where responsibilities included contract negotiations focused on Canadian customers and government procurement practices. Additional experience includes the role of Commercial Contracts Manager at March Networks, Legal Counsel for the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa, and a Supply Relationship Manager at Nortel. Sonia holds an LL.B and an LL.L from the University of Ottawa.