Combes, who has also served as CFO at France Telecom, was set to take up the reins of Vivendi’s French telecoms unit, SFR, last year but the move was cancelled after a management reshuffle at Vivendi.
He replaces Ben Verwaayen, who led Alcatel for five years but failed to deliver a turnaround in the company’s fortunes, despite a positive end to FY2011.
In its recent 2012 financial results Alcatel recorded a net loss of €1.37 billion prompting Verwaayen’s resignation.
“Alcatel-Lucent is an unrivalled technology leader in the telecommunications industry with an immense array of talent and capabilities in R&D facing major challenges. This is a company I know well and I look forward to succeeding Ben, working with the key international customers, and driving the business into sustained profitability for its customers, employees and shareholders,” said Combes.
Alcatel-Lucent shares opened over 3% higher following the announcement.
Market watchers suggest Combes is a good choice for the company given his experience leading Vodafone’s European operations through the financial crisis and his familiarity with the French government.
Combes will inherit a cost reduction plan that includes 5,000 job cuts, as well as €2 billion of loan financing. He also faces difficult market conditions with reduced telco spending in Europe and competition from Chinese rivals Huawei and ZTE.
