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Tech Veteran
Patricia Russo
Former CEO, Alcatel-Lucent
Russo announced her resignation on July 29 after the company reported six straight quarterly losses and failed to deliver on benefits of a cross-border merger that was aimed at building a telecom-gear powerhouse (BusinessWeek.com, 6/18/08). Russo proved her tech chops over the years, with eight years in sales and marketing at IBM (IBM), a short stint as chief operating officer of Eastman Kodak (EK), and more than two decades at AT&T (T) and then Lucent, the equipment division she helped found, spin off, and ultimately merge with France's Alcatel. But a global demand slump and a plunging stock price proved her undoing.
