COPPERCOM HIRES NEW CEO

The game of musical chairs at CopperCom ended last week when the company named former Alcatel executive Michael Myers to take over as president and CEO. Myers replaces Dennis Chateauneuf, who came to the Boca Raton, Fla.-based vendor as president and chief operating officer in July 2001.

Despite current market conditions and a history steeped in the downtrodden voice-over-broadband market, Myers is optimistic. “The company will be able to take advantage of the [market] discontinuity,” Myers said last week.

CopperCom's merger with next-generation switch vendor DTI two years ago should help the company. However, it faces a crowded market populated with established players like Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks and Siemens, as well as smaller players such as Convergent, Sonus, Santera, Taqua and Telica.

“Their ability to survive long term isn't farfetched because of the DTI acquisition,” said Ron Westfall, senior analyst at Current Analysis, noting that the market likely won't support six players. “They bought a company with paying customers.”

Myers also doesn't see the high number of competitors as a big problem, in part because CopperCom's product architecture lets providers start small and migrate up to a high-end market. Such a strategy likely will pay off in an economic recovery.

Getting to that point will be difficult, though Myers claimed the company is in good financial health. “I wouldn't be here if it wasn't,” he said.

Myers' appointment makes him the third CEO at CopperCom since last summer, when president and CEO Cynthia Ringo stepped down during a restructuring. At that time, the company secured $65 million in its fifth round of funding. Ringo recently landed in the vacant CEO seat at start-up router manufacturer Pluris.

Myers, who left Alcatel in January of this year, was originally part of the company's DSC acquisition and served as president of Alcatel's Broadband Networking Division.