Alcatel-Lucent Ousts CEO — Too Little Too Late

Updated
Satellite TV
Satellite TV

Deeply damaged telecom equipment company Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) has fired CEO Ben Verwaayen. The decision will not matter. The company has lost so much market share that its shares trade near penny stock levels.

The efforts at a turnaround have failed for years. In the spring of 2008, the stock hit $7.50. It currently trades barely above $1. Alcatel-Lucent has lost money in each of the past three years, on revenue that has been flat at about $21 billion. The successes of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have made growth at Alcatel-Lucent almost impossible.

The company announced:

Alcatel-Lucent (announced today that CEO, Ben Verwaayen, has decided not to seek re-election as a director at this year's Annual General Meeting, and will step down as CEO once a successful transition has been executed.

Philippe Camus, Chairman of the Alcatel-Lucent Board, said "After due reflection, the Board has accepted Ben's decision to step down as CEO."

"Over the last few years, Ben has set a new direction, created one company out of two, and has recently seen through the completion of the stabilisation of the company's balance sheet, enabling us to move forward with confidence."


Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Management Change, Telecom Tagged: ALU, CSCO, ERIC

Advertisement