AlcaLu looking for a peerless leader

There are some people destined to be together: Astaire and Rogers; Lerner and Lowe; Starsky and Hutch. Alcatel-Lucent Patricia Russo and Serge Tchuruk won’t be added to that list anytime soon. The Wall Street Journal today says new reports indicate the two combined like lemon juice and cream … with similar results. The two were canned after telling the board individually on July 27 (as in, “I need to talk about something but wait until he/she leaves the room,”) that they could no longer work with one another.

The alliance between American Russo and Frenchman Tchuruk apparently was doomed from the start of the 2006 merger that created the uber telecom equipment company.

Now, AlcaLu, in a semi-rudderless state, is casting around for a new executive to blame for its woeful performance. Ex-BT chief Ben Verwaayen already has turned the job down, reports the Journal. Also likely on the list of potential scapegoats, uh, CEOs: Thierry Breton, ex-chairman and CEO of France Télécom;  Philippe Germond, CEO of information-technology company Atos Origin, and Comcast boss Stephen Burke.

For more:
Check out the Wall Street Journal story [1]

Related articles:
Q2 losses helped usher duo out Alcatel-Lucent report [2]
Could Alcatel-Lucent rule change doom Russo? Russo article [3]
Alcatel-Lucent shareholders ease rules for CEO removal. Alcatel-Lucent story [4]