Alcatel-Lucent has named ex-BT boss Ben Verwaayen as its new CEO and Philippe Camus as the company’s new non-executive chairman from October 1 this year. The moves follow the planned departures of chairman Serge Tchuruk and CEO Pat Russo, announced at the end of July following a sixth consecutive quarterly loss (€1.1 billion). Mr Verwaayen is most recently credited with reviving the fortunes of BT – where he was CEO from February 2002 to June 1, 2008 – and will be based at Alcatel-Lucent’s headquarters in Paris. According to a company statement, his fixed salary will be €1.2 million with a target annual bonus of 150 percent of fixed salary.

Only last week it was widely reported that the US/French telecom equipment maker – the world’s largest following a merger between Alcatel and Lucent in 2006 – was considering naming ex-Alcatel COO Mike Quigley as its new CEO. Other names to have been in the frame reportedly included former Alcatel executive Philippe Germond (now CEO of Atos Origin), former France Telecom boss Thierry Breton, and Michel Combes, former finance director of France Telecom, who now heads the private-equity-controlled broadcasting tower operator TDF. Analysts have reacted positively to the appointment of Verwaayen. “Similar to Alcatel-Lucent, BT was perceived as a company in poor condition before Verwaayen took over,” Alexander Peterc of Exane BNP Paribas told Bloomberg. “So he has to do the same again and cut costs, accelerate the restructuring, focus the company on the right market segments and instill confidence in the organisation and its employees.”