Nortel shakes up executive ranks, Plastina leaves

Nortel Networks again is making changes to its corporate ladder in its quest to return to profitability. Today the company announced that it intends to focus the company’s key businesses of wireless networks, wireline networks, enterprise networks and optical networks.

As part of the changes, longtime employee Frank Plastina, who was once rumored to be close to the CEO’s chair, has left the company. Plastina was president of Metro and Enterprise Networks at Nortel and had been with the company for 15 years. The executive changes reflect the division and collapsing of the Metro and Enterprise Networks group into the Wireline Networks and Enterprise Networks divisions. The move could be reflective of Nortel’s growing push to concentrate on its enterprise products and customer base. “I can’t speak to the reasons for Plastina’s departure or his plans,” said a Nortel spokesman.

Wireless Networks president Pascal Debon and Optical Networks president Brian McFadden will both continue in their current roles.

Sue Spradley has been named president of Wireline Networks and will control packet solutions for voice, data and multiservice products. She also will handle circuit technologies, which were previously part of Metro and Enterprise Networks. Spradley was formerly president and general manager of Nortel’s VoIP business.

The new Enterprise division, which was part of the former Metro and Enterprise Networks group, will be headed by Oscar Rodriguez as president and general manager of Enterprise Solutions. Rodriguez will handle business strategy and investment as well as product strategy. Before moving into the new role, Rodriguez was president and general manager of Intelligent Internet for Nortel.

Robert Burke will continue as president of enterprise marketing for the division. The changes are effective immediately and all of the executives will report to president and CEO Frank Dunn.

Just yesterday, Merrill Lynch slashed fiscal 2003 sales estimates for Nortel due to concern that the company was too optimistic about potential sales from wireless networks. The brokerage firm now expects Nortel sales to decline by 9% to $9.6 billion in fiscal 2003 rather than only 4%.