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Why Alcatel-Lucent’s chief executive, Patricia F. Russo, and its chairman, Serge Tchuruk, would step down?

By Amarendra Bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:July 29, 2008 Become a writer!

News says that French-American telecoms equipment group Alcatel-Lucent said its chief executive, Patricia Russo, is to step down by the end of the year and that chairman and former CEO Serge Tchuruk will step down on October 1 this year. Russo said Alcatal-Lucent’s ’strategy is taking hold’ and that its ‘results are demonstrating good operational progress’.'That said, I believe it is the right time for me to step down. The company will benefit from new leadership.’

According to The Wall Street Journal, “With Alcatel-Lucent facing a sluggish market and fierce competitive pressures, the departures of the company’s two figureheads does not come at an easy time.” “It is now time that the company acquires a personality of its own, independent from its two predecessors. The board must also evolve and the chairman should give the first example, which I have decided to do,” Tchuruk said.

“Over the past three months, the global macroeconomic environment has further deteriorated and the economic slowdown has begun to spread to Europe. Although not evident yet, we believe this could impact somewhat the capital expenditure decisions of certain European customers, especially in fixed access,” Russo said.

- shares in ALU have dropped from $14.55 to just above $5 in May.
- a loss of 1.1 billion euros ($1.73 billion)
- CDMA (code division multiple access) business declined in the second quarter faster.
- Ex-Lucent CEO Henry Schacht also will quit from the board.
- company took an 810 million euro impairment charge .
- Revenue dropped 5% to 4.1 billion euros.