TORONTO-Nortel Networks Corp. named Dennis Carey as its new executive vice president of corporate operations, even though Carey is a former Motorola Inc. executive.
Carey served most recently as Motorola’s executive vice president, president and chief executive of integrated electronic systems. He is also a 25-year veteran of General Electric Co. Nortel’s new chief executive, Mike Zafirovski, also worked for both GE and Motorola.
Carey’s hiring is surprising since Nortel and Zafirovski promised not to hire Motorola executives as part of a settlement agreement reached in November. Motorola had filed a lawsuit alleging Zafirovski’s move to Nortel’s top seat would lead to misappropriation of trade secrets and breaches of multiple non-compete, confidentiality and no-solicitation agreements. The lawsuit sought an injunction to stop Zafirovski from joining Nortel for two years, but was settled when Zafirovski agreed to uphold the agreements he signed with Motorola and to repay Motorola $11.5 million, which was part of his separation payment from Motorola. Nortel said it would reimburse Zafirovski for his repayment to Motorola.
Zafirovski took the reins at Nortel Nov. 15, and has since brought over two former GE executives. In early January, Don McKenna, a 40-year veteran of GE, was named Nortel’s vice president of global manufacturing services. In December, Joel Hackney, a 14-year GE employee, was appointed vice president of global supply chain and quality at Nortel.
When asked whether Carey’s hiring was a violation of Nortel’s agreement with Motorola, Nortel spokeswoman Patricia Vernon said, “Motorola is aware of Carey’s appointment and has no issues with it.”
Motorola declined to comment on Carey’s appointment.
The companies would not say when Carey stopped working at Motorola.
Nortel said Carey will be based in Toronto and will be responsible for human resources, the business transformation office, information services and other programs. His appointment is effective Jan. 30.
“As I continue to strengthen the company’s leadership team, it’s critical that we have individuals with global business experience working for world-class companies,” said Zafirovski. “Dennis will play a key role in driving the cultural and business transformation at Nortel that will be essential to the company’s future success.”
