Alcatel-Lucent board backs Russo

Aiming to avert speculation about Alcatel-Lucent CEO Pat Russo’s future at the company, Alcatel-Lucent’s board of directors issued a formal announcement reiterating its support of Russo and her leadership team.
“Recent reports in the news concerning a board meeting at Alcatel-Lucent have led to mischaracterized interpretations and erroneous speculations,” the board wrote in its statement, referring to a Financial Times report that Russo had been given a month to develop a restructuring plan.
“While clearly disappointed in the most recent changes in the company’s outlook, the board supports Pat Russo and the leadership team, and the efforts they are making to adapt the company’s plan in light of this year’s developments. The board will review the plan to be developed by management during the next scheduled board meeting on Oct. 30 prior to the release of our Q3 results.”
The board said it remains confident in the “strategic direction taken with the merger of Alcatel-Lucent” and the “future potential of the company.”
Alcatel-Lucent’s stock was up around 2% on the news to around $10.33 per share.
Alcatel-Lucent has issued a number of profit warnings over the past year; the company’s stock has been falling steadily as a result.