Telecom Lead Asia: Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen may step down soon.
Some directors are frustrated with the slow pace of the turnaround at the telecom equipment company, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Alcatel-Lucent will announce its Q4 2012 results today.
Alcatel-Lucent’s Alcatel-Lucent’s third quarter revenue decreased 2.8 percent year-over-year to Euro 3,599 million. Alcatel-Lucent reported net loss of Euro 146 million.
Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen told CNBC that the company was determined to execute a restructuring plan, which includes 5,500 jobs worldwide despite a backlash from French labor unions and the French government.
Verwaayen said a number of factors would need to change to enable Europe to get up to speed with the U.S. and other regions in terms of telecom technology.
Before joining Alcatel-Lucent, Ben Verwaayen was appointed to the Board of Directors of BT on January 14, 2002 and became Chief Executive on February 1, 2002. He left BT Group on June 1, 2008 as Chairman of the Board’s Operating Committee.
Before joining BT Group, he was at Lucent Technologies starting September 1997, holding various positions. He left Lucent as Vice Chairman of the Management Board. Other positions that Ben Verwaayen held at Lucent were Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice-President, International.
Prior to joining Lucent, Ben Verwaayen worked for KPN in the Netherlands for nine years as President and Managing Director of its subsidiary PTT Telecom. From 1975 to 1988, he worked at ITT in Europe.
Currently, Ben is also Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Climate Change Board and in August 2010 was elected member of the World Economic Forum’s Foundation Board.
He is an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, an Honorary Knight of the British Empire (KBE), and a Chevalier de la Légion d ‘Honneur.
