| The Context of the biography is located in the French | | | | fantastic." |
| company Alcatel that has recently merged with the | | | | His cultural experience is what Alcatel may have been |
| American Lucent. The merger started in December | | | | looking for: ... "Alcatel-Lucent ... forged in a |
| 2006 with many difficulties: losses, a shrinking market | | | | so-far-unsuccessful transatlantic merger ... is riven by |
| share, aggressive competition from China, and a stock | | | | partisanship and internal strife." |
| plumbing more than 60% of its value (which is - taking | | | | Lucent's origin is a spin-off from AT&T and |
| into account the financial disasters - not that unique). | | | | "Alcatel was laying fibre-optic cable for fun in France." |
| In an interview Verwaayen is asked about this | | | | There are similarities as well as huge differences he |
| situation; mainly about the cultural-"divide" between the | | | | admits; in both cases we had to deal with: "reality and |
| French and the US. Verwaayen explains politically | | | | perception. Both are extremely important." (1) He |
| correct that "this is an normal international (global) | | | | stresses the crucial importance of the organization to |
| company that is more than French-American, but has | | | | "understand the strategy and how to achieve it." |
| locations in 130 countries." | | | | People are keen to know what to do. |
| When the chairman Serge Tchuruk and CEO Patricia | | | | Had the individual companies lost purpose? Or, as |
| Russo stepped down in july of 2008, people thought | | | | Verwaayen showed that: the internal view of the |
| that Quigley from an Australia office would become | | | | company is completely at odds with the external view, |
| the next CEO, but surprisingly it didn't happen. | | | | which is one of "a company under siege". |
| What has Verwaayen got, that Alcatel was looking | | | | Verwaayen's task is to deal with change; the Alcatel |
| for? | | | | equipment is facing a threat from the telecom market |
| Verwaayen is first of all not a stranger in telecom: he | | | | that is more and more internet-based, a change similar |
| has experience in companies like KPN, ITT (the | | | | in the market for cameras where "mobile phones are |
| predecessor of Alcatel), lucent and BT. "He lives in | | | | now taking more photographs than cameras." (1). |
| Paris." Philip Camus (of French Origin) was chosen to | | | | Yet, he thinks that ... "the challenge for Alcatel-Lucent is |
| be the next president and chairman of the board of | | | | a bigger one .. (because) the company is still riven with |
| which Verwaayen will be a member. Camus lives in | | | | internal strife... -- the talk of 'what's your background' |
| the US. | | | | and what's your blood group' has to end," referring to |
| In an interview with Andrew Cave the former BT boss | | | | the tendency among employees to identify with the |
| Ben Verwaayen tells why he rejected politics to take | | | | company they came from." (1) This is hard to imagine |
| on the task of reviving Alcatel-Lucent. He had left | | | | in a situation where only 25 percent of the group |
| British Telecom just a month earlier, and people | | | | employees work in the US and 17 percent in France, |
| thought he would go into politics: | | | | which adds up to a minority of only 42 percent. |
| "Yes, I am very interested in politics and the relationship | | | | Now why is this biography a good match for Alcatel? |
| between public policy and private companies. But what | | | | He worked both for Lucent as well as for Alcatel |
| gives people the feeling that I have left business for | | | | (when it was still part of the ITT conglomerate). That, |
| the field of politics?... I am not a politician. I think I have | | | | together with his interest in politics he fits quite well in |
| proven that. | | | | this dire environment. |
| Ben Verwaayen is 56 when he starts at Alcatel and | | | | (he) was born the fifth of six children to parents who |
| he belongs to the People's Party for Freedom and | | | | ran a family chemicals firm in a small Dutch village and |
| Democracy in his native Netherlands ... "and (he) is one | | | | says he discovered early in his life that he wanted to |
| of very few CEO's to have written a political | | | | be a "change agent". |
| manifesto." (1) | | | | He organized the first student parliament at school and |
| In addition, his first promotion, at US conglomerate ITT, | | | | during his national service he set up a union to lobby |
| came after he headed to Brussels in 1975 to protest | | | | for better conditions. "Initially, after graduating with a law |
| about the company's alleged role in the overthrow of | | | | and international relations degree from Utrecht |
| Salvador Allende's government in Chile ITT | | | | University, he wanted to be a journalist or politician and |
| responded by making him its Netherlands public | | | | took his first job at the ITT subsidiary because it gave |
| relations chief. | | | | him time to sit on a state committee to reform the |
| Now he ... "still likes to pronounce his views ... he likes | | | | army." (1) |
| "constructive conflict" and vigorous debate more than | | | | His management style is: "unreasonable with targets |
| didactic policy pronouncements." | | | | but passionate about people," (1) He had a blog to |
| He also values passion, an anecdote shows how he | | | | communicate with the BT group's 95,000 workers. |
| once stopped a meeting and announced: "Can we | | | | H.J.B. |
| please celebrate this moment? This is passion. This is | | | | |