Kevin Kennedy, the Bell Labs veteran and one-time Cisco Systems executive who has been CEO of JDS Uniphase for five years, will leave the company next month. He is leaving to become the CEO of Avaya [1], but his departure comes as JDSU also is planning to cut 400 employee and contractor positions, as well as reduce its number of manufacturing locations from 19 to 12.
While at Cisco, Kennedy was in line for--and seemingly ready for--the Cisco CEO job that still belongs to John Chambers. He was among the first of several folks in Cisco's executive ranks to find a CEO job elsewhere as it became apparent Chambers would not leave the Cisco top spot anytime soon.
For more:
- Light Reading has this story [2]
Related articles
Kennedy in as Avaya CEO [1]
JDSU reported an optical components supply shortage just recently [3]
JDSU made an acquisition earlier this year [4]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/kennedy-avaya-ceo/2008-10-30
[2] http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=166992&f_src=lightreading_section_5
[3] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/jdsu-experiences-supply-shortage/2008-08-21
[4] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/jdsu-acquires-westover-scientific-unit/2008-01-14