Bill Owens, the former U.S. admiral brought in to lead Nortel onl...
Bill Owens, the former U.S. admiral brought in to lead Nortel only last year, will leave the firm, to be replaced by former Motorola executive Mike Zafirovski. Analysts voiced surprise at the turn. Owens hands off to Zafirovski Nov.…
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15. Zafirovski, 51, quit as Motorola pres. in Jan. after being passed over as CEO. Under him, Motorola’s once-struggling mobile division developed its popular Razr phone. He joined Motorola in June 2000 after leaving GE, where he ran the lighting division. Owens, 65, was CEO 19 months and by most accounts enjoyed the job. Seaboard analyst Brian Sharwood told us Owens’ departure seemed linked to the surprise exit of Gary Daichendt, a former Cisco executive who was pres. and COO fora few months. But Sharwood, a specialist in the Canadian telecom sector, said that just as Daichendt’s resignation is a mystery, the full story on Owens’ exit may remain a riddle. “Like with all Nortel things, we all scratch our heads and wonder what the hell happened,” Sharwood said.