Alcatel-Lucent Chairman, CEO To Resign

Following the sixth consecutive quarter of losses, the chairman and chief executive officer of Alcatel-Lucent will both resign later this year. Serge Tchuruk, the non-executive chairman of the company, will step down on 1 October 2008, whereas the CEO Pat Russo will resign 'no later than the end of the year', the company said.
The company's board also added that a search for a new non-executive chairman and chief executive officer will begin immediately. "The board is also initiating a process to change the composition of the Board to a smaller group that will include new members," said Alcatel-Lucent.

"The merger phase is now behind us. It is now time that the company acquires a personality of its own, independent from its two predecessors," said Serge Tchuruk.

"I am very pleased with the progress we are making especially in light of a difficult market environment," said Pat Russo. "The company will benefit from new leadership aligned with a newly composed Board to bring a fresh and independent perspective that will take Alcatel-Lucent to its next level of growth and development in a rapidly changing global market."

Now that the French telecommunication giant has moved beyond the transitional phase of the merger, the board has determined to restructure itself in a way consistent with the company's needs going forward. As part of this process, the board will reduce the size of its membership over time while adding several new members with strong industry expertise, the company added.

To initiate this process, Henry Schacht also announced to resign from the board immediately believing that, being a former CEO, he should not remain beyond the transitional stage of the merger.