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Technology Stocks : Nortel Networks (NT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: shoe who wrote (14492)	11/30/2005 8:00:22 PM
From: John Hayman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14638

New man doing some house cleaning. John Zafirovski's Nortel Says Adieu To McFadden, Spradly Greg Levine, 11.30.05, 1:35 PM ET NEW YORK - The new broom starts sweeping. A mere fortnight after Michael Zafirovski seized the chief executive's reins at Nortel Networks (nyse: NT - news - people ), the exec shakeup has begun. Long-time Nortel employees Brian McFadden and Sue Spradly have left the telecommunications equipment maker as of Nov. 28, the firm announced on Wednesday. McFadden and Spradly were chief research officer and president of global services and operations, respectively. Zafirovski's firm said that Peter Carbone will don the CRO mantle. Nortel's hunt continues for a new chief technology officer. David Downing will supervise global services and operations provisionally, while John Haydon assumes control of Nortel's global supply chain, according to the Ottawa Business Journal. Zafirovski took the CEO post once Nortel hammered out a $11.5 million settlement with his previous employer, Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ), which claimed he'd violated non-compete agreements by moving to his new digs.

To: shoe who wrote (14492)	11/30/2005 10:23:49 PM
From: The Ox	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14638

I didn't see the WSJ article but there is a short Reuters article on Yahoo that discusses the 2 departing execs. UPDATE 1-Two senior executives to leave Nortel Wed Nov 30, 2005 04:28 PM ET (Adds analyst comments, stock prices) By Susan Taylor OTTAWA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Two high-profile executives are leaving Nortel Networks Corp. (NT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (NT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) just two weeks after a new chief executive took the reins, the telecom equipment supplier confirmed on Wednesday. In a move that some analysts say signals a more dramatic overhaul to come, Nortel said that 28-year veteran and chief research officer Brian McFadden "will be leaving" the company. Global services and operations president Sue Spradley, with Nortel for 18 years, will also be exiting under "organizational changes" made on Monday. "In our view, the new CEO has started taking aggressive measures toward rightsizing Nortel's business model," UBS analysts said in a note. "We believe these steps are early signs of a more significant reorganization with further executive and non-executive reductions and changes expected." After modest declines earlier in the session, Nortel shares added 5 Canadian cents to end at C$3.37 on the Toronto Stock Exchange and gained 6 cents to close at $2.90 in New York. "It's not unusual for a new CEO to make head-count rotations, particularly when the company has trailed its competitors in recent years," RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue told Reuters. "It does, however, cause some near-term disruption to the business." Nortel has been working to recover from an accounting scandal that battered it stock, hurt demand, sparked lawsuits and damaged its reputation. CEO Mike Zafirovski, who joined Nortel on Nov. 15, has said his priorities include lifting operating margins to between 13 percent and 19 percent from the low single digits, and focusing its research and development spending. "We believe the only way Nortel can achieve this operating margin is to focus the product portfolio on specific market segments," the UBS note added. "We note that both optical and wireline segments have been a target of significant restructuring as these businesses have struggled over the past few years." Nortel's most urgent need is to fill the chief technology officer post, Sue said, but it should also hire a chief operating officer. That job was left vacant after the surprise resignation of Gary Daichendt this summer. "I think Mike subscribes to the notion that the core expertise of a technology company is its talent pool. And if you don't have that, then you need to upgrade," Sue said. Nortel is keeping pace with rivals when it comes to technology, another analyst said, but lagging their marketing efforts. "The industry's evolving quite a bit and I think the dynamic has changed. It's no longer just pushing the standard solutions," said Charter Equity Research analyst Edward Snyder. "You've got to have a more holistic approach to the marketing campaign, that's certainly what their competitors are doing." Nortel said that, under the changes, Peter Carbone will hold the research officer post while a search continues for a new chief technology officer. Also on an interim basis, David Downing will oversee global services and operations and John Haydon will run the company's global supply chain. ($1=$1.17 Canadian)