Alcatel-Lucent starts search for new top managers

By Astrid Wendlandt and Cyril Altmeyer

PARIS (Reuters) - Potential successors to the ousted CEO and chairman at Alcatel-Lucent could include departed Alcatel directors and a former French finance minister, according to analysts.

The telecoms equipment group on Tuesday said it would part ways with chairman Serge Tchuruk and chief executive Patricia Russo after cutting expectations again for the third quarter, raising hopes a new team would turn the group round and improve its fortunes.

Alcatel-Lucent said the search would start immediately.

Analysts said names in the hat to replace Russo included former French finance minister Thierry Breton, industry veteran and well-regarded trouble-shooter Philippe Germond, who was Alcatel's chief operating officer between 2003 and 2005, and Ben Verwaayen, the former head of BT Group.

"It is hard to see who would want to take on the leadership roles at Alcatel-Lucent. In addition to the role heading Motorola Mobile Devices, this creates further job vacancies in the sector that will be almost impossible to fill," said Ben Wood at CCS Insight.

Breton, who helped overhaul France Telecom after it nearly collapsed under debt in 2003, was teaching at Harvard Business School this year and could be available, they said.

Germond was Tchuruk's chief executive in waiting before the merger. Germond has been heading French IT services group Atos Orgin since October 2007.

"Germond knows the company well. If Alcatel-Lucent decides to call him back to head the group while giving him room to manoeuvre, he should not refuse," said Sebastien Sztabowicz, analyst at Landsbanki Kepler.