Lucent brings McGinn to helm

Richard McGinn reaped the benefits of his close relationship with Lucent Technologies' leader Henry Schacht last week by taking his job. McGinn, president and chief operating officer at the AT&T spinoff, succeeded Schacht as chief executive officer.

The move was no surprise because Schacht showed every indication of being a short-term mentor to McGinn, 51, who had his eye on the CEO spot since Lucent became a separate company last year. Schacht, 63, a former AT&T director and chairman of Cummins Engine Co., will remain chairman of Lucent until February.

"Rich's energy, strategic sense and operational experience combined with a clear vision of the leadership role that Lucent can play in the communications networking and technology arena make him the right leader to further Lucent's growth," Schacht said in a statement.

Lucent has fared better than its parent company since the spinoff, successfully completing an initial public offering, recently buying Octel Communications and announcing a major offensive into data networking (Telephony, Sept. 22, page 7).

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