Tellabs' Kennedy: Now’s a perfect time to take a break

Since Tellabs North America President Ed Kennedy was a strong candidate to replace departing CEO Michael Birck, Kennedy’s resignation yesterday may have sparked speculation that he left after having lost his bid for the top job or having lost his faith in the company.

Neither is the case, Kennedy told Telephony today.

Though Kennedy admits he pursued the CEO post Birck opened in November, he said his decision to leave the company was based primarily on the amount of time his work consumed and the geographic gap it imposed between him and his family.

Kennedy has lived in Washington, D.C. since before he came to Tellabs through its acquisition of Ocular Networks two years ago. In his first year at Tellabs, he visited its Naperville, Ill., headquarters every other week, but throughout the last turbulent year, he was always either in Naperville or meeting with customers, he said, leaving him little time with his family in D.C. Kennedy has four kids, whose ages range from 18 years to 14 months. (“I’m not home often, but I’m very effective when I’m home,” he joked.)

Kennedy and his wife discussed moving to the Chicago area and even looked at houses at one point. (He insists he has nothing against Naperville, which was recently named the best place to live in the Midwest by Money Magazine.) But his hectic work schedule prevented him from making much progress on that front, he said.

His demanding job at Tellabs was the third such role in recent years, he added. As CEO of Ocular, he worked 80- and 100-hour weeks. And before that, as vice president of worldwide marketing for Alcatel’s data division, he logged in 150,000 miles of travel per year.

“I’ve just been hustling now for the last six or seven years, and now’s a perfect time to take a break for a while,” he said.

The vacancy of the Tellabs CEO post brought Kennedy to a crossroads, he said: Either take the job and commit a few more years of hard work to the company, or bow out now and leave on a high note. When asked if employment contracts helped dictate the timing of his decision to resign, Kennedy said only that employment contracts are confidential.

Kennedy was well-respected at Tellabs and credited for bringing an innovative, risk-taking energy to a historically conservative company. Lehman Brothers analyst Steve Levy said he was “slightly disappointed” that Kennedy wasn’t taking the helm at Tellabs, given the “fresh ideas” he’s brought to the company. Along with aiding Tellabs’ foray into the next-generation data market with his Ocular products, Kennedy also spearheaded Tellabs’ acquisition of Vivace Networks in May 2003.

Even without him, Kennedy said Tellabs is on the right track to thrive in the next-gen market and feels comfortable leaving on a positive note as the industry continues to revive.

“My style, the way I operate, I shook things up and got things moving in different directions,” he said. “But [Tellabs] is a large, billion-dollar outfit, and you have to run it accordingly. Whoever they get--seasoned CEO or startup guy--has a great job ahead of him. Running Tellabs is one of the best jobs in the industry. While it’s very disheartening that I’m not going to be the one running it, on personal level, I think [leaving] is the right decision.”

As for his own future, Kennedy said he has no immediate career plans.

“I’m just going to decompress for a while,” he said. “I’m going to stay at home and not get on an airplane unless it’s with flip-flops and a t-shirt.”