Lucent taps Pat Russo as CEO

After a lengthy search for a permanent rather than interim CEO, Lucent Technologies revealed today that former AT&T and Lucent executive Patricia Russo will fill the chair.

Russo will act as the company’s president and CEO, assuming the reigns from Henry Schact. Schact will remain with the company through this year and will serve as chairman.

Lucent’s most recent restructuring plans, as outlined by Schact, entail concentrating on its top service-provider customers, and Russo is expected to execute those plans.

“Russo will continue work and plans already [in place],” said a company spokeswoman.

Russo’s background in the service-provider sector is of added value to the company struggling to redirect its focus. She accumulated 20 years of experience at Lucent and AT&T. Russo helped with Lucent’s 1996 spin-off from AT&T and served as executive vice president and CEO of the service-provider networks division.

“She knows the service-provider business and the customers,” said the spokeswoman. “She turned [Lucent’s] service-provider business around.”

In April 2001, Russo left Lucent in favor of the role as president and COO of Kodak, which was restructuring while she was there.

Russo’s task at Lucent will certainly not be trivial. So far, the company has cut its work force from 106,000 to 77,000. And, in the spirit of the financial community’s liking for lay offs, Lucent plans to lower that number to about 57,000.