Bill Owens intends to hand Nortel Networks Corporation's reigns over to Mike Zafirovski, who has been named president and CEO, on Nov. 15.
News of Zafirovski's appointment sent Nortel shares up more than 7 percent. At his new post, Zafirovski will be tasked with carrying out the company's new focus. At the end of September, Nortel announced plans to retool the company into two product-focused groups: Mobility & Converged Core Networks and Enterprise Solutions & Packet Networks.
Zafirovski resigned his post as president and COO of Motorola in January. His departure was no surprise because he was effectively passed over when Motorola's outgoing CEO Christopher Galvin announced plans to step down last December. Many believed Zafirovski was heir to the Motorola thrown, but former Sun Microsystems president Ed Zander was ultimately named as Galvin's replacement. Zafirovski joined Motorola in 2000.
Nortel experienced a management shakeup in June when Gary Daichendt stepped down as president and COO after just three months on the job. Owens, who handed his presidential duties over to Daichendt, was forced to again take up the responsibilities of the post. At the time of the resignation, Chief Technology Officer Gary Kunis, who followed Daichendt to Nortel from Cisco, also announced plans to leave his post, although no reason was given for Kunis' departure.
"Bill re-established stability within Nortel and credibility with all of its stakeholders. He guided the company in becoming current in its financial reporting and maintained the loyalty of our customers," Nortel Chairman Harry Pearce said in a prepared statement. "Mike can now build for the future on the strong foundation Bill Owens has given us."
Owens intends to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors following his retirement from Nortel.