“The Godfather” Joins Nortel

http://www2.nortel.com/go/news_detail.jsp?cat_i...

And yet another exec hired....the hiring freeze is working out real well so far.

they got rid of the prev guy and probably hired someone really cheap. but hiring a CEO for Mexico does not make any sense. how much biz comes out from latin america. one would have thought they would shut down all this including the bloated florida office to support the region.

I can already hear the discussion at the BOD conference room.

MikeZ: Mister Manley, one of our key goals for this restructuring process is to open more Nortel shops, bring in more CM and import more Nortel people into Mexico. Specifically we are looking at Juarez where all the current drug cartel executions are happening. Real estate is dirt cheap there for obvious reason. And when I say dirt I mean dirt, as in "six feet under".

John Manley: Great Job. I see we've appointed another exec in Mexico. I know we are turning the corner. We must not have jobs in Canada. As a member of the liberal party I am a firm believer in helping out people from other countries before we look at our own. My disciple Dalton McGuinty as the leader of Ontario oversaw a job loss of 70k in Ontario alone in january. More than half of what the entire country lost. Canada on the whole lost far more jobs than the united states when you factor population comparisons into the ratio. I am recommending to the Board tonight that we hire Dalton immediately.

Mike Z: Yes the operation should be up and running soon. We have dedicated scrap depots since we know alot of that will be made. But when you are paying in pesos and burrittos it doesn't really matter. Quality is not Job 1.

John Manley: Thanks Mike. Would you care to join me at Taco Bell?

Another wonderful career brought to ruin by Nortel... shame.

Lastly:

F5 Networks, in a move to give customers the flexibility to choose a secure multi-vendor IT environment instead of costly proprietary models, announced that it has become a member of the HP ProCurve Open Network Ecosystem

In a move designed to provide customers with flexible and cost-effective options for integrating Unified Communications and IP Telephony solutions into networks, Avaya today announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with HP ProCurve.

Look out Cisco -- Hewlett-Packards new Business Class Consultant (BCC) program adds ProCurve switches to the PartnerONE rebate program for reseller partners, HP's Solution Partners Organization (SPO) announced Tuesday.

Nortel customers can expect vendors such as Cisco Systems and HP ProCurve to target them aggressively, according to Nick Lippis, CEO of consultancy Lippis Enterprises.

"When Nortel filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, there was a de facto vacuum in the marketplace," Lippis said. "I think what we'll see is: Their enterprise networking business has always been under attack, but it's going to be under increasing attack by Cisco and HP ProCurve."

Barker said McHugh was in touch with the channel and easily accessible. The quick access and communication will be missed, he said, adding he had nothing but respect for McHugh's integrity and down to earth attitude.

"They just need to make sure they don't forget how they got to where they are and who their customers are," he said, calling ProCurve one of the industry's best success stories

Good luck with Nortel, John cuz:

[Said] Zeus Kerravala, Yankee Group senior vice president: "McHugh did a great job of taking ProCurve from nothing to the No. 2 switching vendor," he said. "Growing the company as basically a startup is a different skill set than taking the company and growing it into one company with a broader portfolio and more of a solution sell. Growing ProCurve now requires competing much more with Cisco and growing the channel."

Kerravala speculated that McHugh may have felt he completed his tasks with ProCurve, once the vendor hit a solid No. 2 position to Cisco's dominant No. 1.

Uh, Nortel is not a startup by any means. Its always been well ahead of Cisco in virtually everything but electricity bills.

So what happened to John McHugh?

Nobody's talking, especially not HP ProCurve, as they only released the following statement to yours truly:

John McHugh - HP ProCurve vice president and worldwide general manager, has left the company.
In the interim, HP ProCurve has named Bret Cromwell as acting general manager.
Cromwell was previously worldwide controller for HP ProCurve, and for the past six years, has been a key member of HP ProCurve’s executive staff, responsible for all aspects of HP ProCurve’s finance, accounting and IT activities.

So wheres ProCurve without him today? Lessee....

...and may the parade of idiocy continue to pass through the revolving door of Nortel executive leadership...

This really is disgusting.
Bad Enough that AAN has to put stories about Nortel execs on here but to extol
in the hiring of another one really is a kick in the N**S to employees.
This McHappy Burger looks like he has an ego. He looks the role!!
I can imagine how he really operates.
Can you blame him coming to nortel.
Even in company under bankruptcy protection he will get a big bonus, perks and a huge salary. This guy is now in the company that treats CEO's and execs like Gods. Why wouldn't he go there.
400 plus million in payouts according to the ottawa citizen.
This guy knows the pie is sweet and he intends to splurge to excesses.

went through the crn article. he left in june 2008!!!!! comments show he is a clone of Joel. sounds like he was fired.

--
John McHugh was a horrible sub par manager. He had a serious napoleon complex that ran a tiny division of HP based only on price and not technology. He turned procurve into smc. He ran procurve like the wild west where groups fought each other non stop. They lost 70% of their workforce due to his incompetency. No love loss at procurve for him. Go join carly in waiting on politicians like a lap dog.
--
McHugh was an egomaniac. Good riddance
--
I need to agree with the individual above with the "Don't let the door hit you" comment. As a former employee of ProCurve, I can tell you the culture is toxic. It is a Back Stabbing culture and employees are encouraged to throw each other under the bus. I can tell you this is a good thing for the employees of ProCurve and a good thing for HP. I can list several other managers in the organization that should join John in the unemployment line. Long live Bill and Dave!

I saw these comments as well. I knew somoene would post them :-) It looks like the channel/business side liked him while line workers despised him for the culture he created. There are so many factors in this. The comment about price and not technology is telling. HP has a renewed focus on advanced technology with the CTO office driving many new initiatives. They probably feel like they didn't lose much with him. If he is cost focused, he should fit nicely as Joel's lapdog.

I smell........John McHugh taking Hackney's position, .Mike Z leaving the company and Joel "Da Choker" Hackney becoming CEO. Who wants to bet on this?

I agree, if creditor's have a say then Hackney will not go anywhere near leadership. Most people wouldn't trust this guy to walk their dog, why would you trust him to run a company?

Bottom line is, if Mike Z leaves then so does Joel since the two are like Dumb and Dumber.

I'll take that bet. Once again, the creditors are a lot smarter than the BoD; they have a real stake in this (unlike the Board)..--bb

I think LonelyOpsGuy is on the right track there...Whether the Hackman will successful in coercing people into the trap or not is the question..I think he's sly enough to pull this one over the inept BoD and the creditors...Either you go bankrupt and have a small company that's growing.....take it or leave it....He has nothing to lose.

I think they will spin off intoNortel Enterprise company and do the firesale on the other LOBs after the house cleaning.

NOT the creditors! They are already chatting w/top telecom analysts and that does NOT include McKinsey, et al. The creditors have HAD it w/these overpaid amateurs.

But I agree with Enterprise spin-off and I think Riedel is the guy that ends up running it. Private equity guys like his background…--bb

Please, No! I might have agreed with you at one point but Riedel has been so invisible and ineffective at Nortel that I just cannot support him for a strategic role. By now he should have either made his mark at Nortel or left if Mike Z was in the way. It's time for Riedel to go back to McKinsey where he will feel comfortable surrounded by other irrelevant strategists.

Agree..Either he has been quelled in the cabinet by the Carolina's gane or he's the most self-effacing VP ever...We haven't heard anything useful from Reidel...

He's a skeleton in the closet...let's keep him there.

I agree that he has NOT stepped up and made his presence count but he can’t go back to McKinsey; he now knows too much about the real world to ever be content there.

He has disappointed me but I haven’t given up on him yet. Riedel is the ONLY shot NT has at getting the enterprise unit right…--bb

... and let the ass kissing games begin.

even if he is a top exec, he cannot do much once he is in the quicksands of nortel. and maybe another good exec whose reputation could be tarnished. or he jumped ship to get a promo. never know with these people. been burned enough to not trust somebody portrayed as a saviour.

More comments on McHugh here..at the bottom of the page..

http://www.crn.com/networking/208402429

How about the theory that the ethernet switching unit will be run by McHugh so that it can be sold to HP at some point in the future ? That certain would help HP consolidate their lead along with Nortel's installed base. Looks like McHugh left HP relatively abruptly and surreptitiously. I don't think the "new" Nortel wants to be in the enteprise ethernet switching business anyway.

Why did he leave HP ? HP's Procurve business had surpassed Nortel awhile back and only had Cisco in its sights. He's going to run into a buzzsaw given the problems and lack of resources at Nortel's ethernet switching business. Nortel laid off most of the ethernet switching chip design group back in December. From what I know of the Procurve business, much of the key successes were due to advancing technology forward at the chip level thru their ASICs and network processors.

He probably did not get the promotion he wanted or was promised. Also, he could be making a play for the switching biz as a management buy-out. Not sure why a guy of his pedigree needs Nortel, there’s more to this story than we know…--bb

Yep. He's going in two levels lower than he was at HP. It doesn't make any sense unless he's going to replace Hackney after they come out of bankruptcy. This would appear to be too smart a decision to be made by existing Nortel management. Could private equity folks already be in charge ?

Could private equity folks already be in charge ?

Maybe, but I tend to think that a new 4-way entity will emerge from this as an Enterprise player. The players would be. The Gores Group who owns Enterasys, 51% of Siemens Enterprise and Nortel Enterprise, re-packaged with a new brand name in the marketplace.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Silver Lake and TPG Capital extend their play through an acquisition of Extreme Networks, combining them with Avaya for a more complete Enterprise play.

Silverlake rumors have been going on since December at Nortel?

Probably the best news I've heard to do with Nortel in months. McHugh is very well thought of in the industry. I suspect he was brought in with a heck of a lot of latitude to fix the structural issues within the organization. He did a spectacular job within HP.

Really? Mike Z was hailed the Savior of Motorola (and its back in the crapper w/o him)

His HP Procurve experience is very relevant to a role with the enterprise business. HP went from no where to one of the top Enterprise communications integration groups and McHugh can effectively say it was his leadership that brought it about. I'd bet that at the least with enterprise being refocused with in the new internal structure he'll be well positioned to make serious changes as to how the group is run. And as i've said in some other posts my opinion of the enterprise group is that its a very under appreciated asset.

I don't think its fair to tarnish McHugh with the same brush as Mike, but your point on disappointment from executives with experience is fair.

I'm jaded enough to assume he got hired to provide distraction, not that he is proof postive that Nortel is on the mend. Sure, he may be able to work a little magic here and there, but - Nortel just keeps getting more and more top-heavy.

Twas the existing brass thats paraded several much-ballyhooed names through what amounted to no more than all-expenses paid, well, package tours of Nortel.

Bwa! He's gonna mop the telecom floor with Nortels competition.

McHugh also will focus heavily on energy efficiency, Nortel said. He could not be reached for comment.

You know why? Because as soon as the very first light bulb (i.e. "idea", get it) went off in McHugh's head, Mike had it replaced with one with 30% less watts. That, and the cube phones were disconnected in 2007.

I can't help but today assume that Mike will do the same with each and every subsequent "light bulb" McHugh has ad infinitum - if Hackney doesn't bitch-slap it out of him first.

Never mess with Masters of the Black Belt.

This hire all depends on who did the "hiring".

David Downing, can and SHOULD be over Hackmaster, since he is a great leader and fully capable of running that division, and pretty much the entire company. Maybe, just maybe, this is an area they (again, whomever is doing this hire) is possibly positioning as the next regime. ....one can only hope.

David Downing is in the job he is in because Hackney put him there. He was one of Hackney's Opns guys and was rewarded. No Enterprise experience, no experience beyond the Opns perspective. Seems to manage much like his mentor - by intimidation.

Last thing Hackney is going to do is bring in someone who's star will shine brighter than his.

Downing was around NT long before Hackney showed up. He was only recently transferred over to that division. His experience comes from years in Carrier. He's a proven leader and is basically there to support the inability of the ones above him.

Hackney is a smoke/mirrors performer and the last thing he would/will allow is anyone to out perform him in his act. That being said, its surprising Downing has stuck it out this long being under the idiot's shadow. But knowing David, he's a true-real-deal-Nortel believer and is doing his best to bite his tongue, hoping and praying our day will someday come. (albeit now, its more like the final charge at Tripoli)

Enterprise is appx 25% of Nortel. Was once bigger (the Bay acq), but has been the same % for years now. One of the challenges for the Enterprise group has always been that Nortel is essentially a Carrier company. 75% of the business comes for Carriers (Wireline, Wireless, Optical). The leadership of the corp has always been driven by Carrier and that business. Every few years, someone gets the bright idea to make Enterprise more like Carrier. Fails miserably, every time. The two are fundamentally different businesses and must be run differently to achieve success. You cant compete with the likes of Cisco (who are an Enterprise focused company) with the the Carrier mentality of the 80's and 90's.

Hackney seems to have removed most of the the experienced Enterprise leadership (and intimidated the next layer down). Guys like Downing may be good leaders in Carrier, but dont have the industry, product or business experience to drive market leadership in the very different Enterprise space. However, buckling to bullies like Hackney does seem to have its rewards.

The Carrier dominance in Nortel (despite the loss of market share and profitability) has always been a major limiter on Nortel's Enterprise Business. The two Garys knew it and wanted to free the business and make Nortel more of an Enterprise driven company. Still have to believe that the we wouldnt be in the CCAA and Chapter 11 space if they hadn't been chased out.

Make no mistake. Downing is another chameleon just like Lowe. AND there are other 'chameleons' roaming around senior level, just waiting for the next best opportunitiy to move up the ladder and suck Nortel dry.

Perhaps David is the savior Nortel needs…--bb

David would be much better than Hackney ... not sure who this other guy is, but so long as Hackney is there, Enterprise will be stagnant-decline. C'mon, Hackney has no Enterprise or telecom experience ... he's a stop-gap cost-cutter, and not very good at that, to sustain a growing business.

Z, Hackney, they both need to go. I don't see Nortel seeing the other side with them in place.

Hackney is so out of his element that it isn't funny. This was painfully clear in that interview he gave with that website a few days ago. All he knows how to spout is Six Sigma buzzwords and even then I'm not sure he knows what they mean.

I don't know much about this Downing fellow but I can't imagine him being worse.

My dead grandmother (my God rest her soul) would be better than Z and Hackney, combined!...---bb

It certainly is refreshing to have Nortel finally hire somebody with actual expertise and background in the business that he's running. As vice president, I assume that he'll be reporting to clueless Hacker. It really makes me wonder - was Mike Z finally pressurized to find somebody competent to run Nortel's (nearly) last remaining competitive business before it too gets blown up by Hacker's imcompetence? Will Hacker still be in charge of enterprise in a few months or is McHugh being groomed as his (I hope) replacement? And if Mike Z was forced to hire McHugh as a possible replacement for Hacker under pressure, does this mean that Zeroman himself is becoming marginalized and second guessed? I guess the answer to these questions will become more apparent in the coming months.

I see Riedel at work here (pulling the strings), good one....--bb

If he reports to Hackney then I view him as nothing more than 'a guy who needs a job'. Nobody with any industry clout would willingly agree to work for the choker. If he doesn't report to Hackney, and he's in an enterprise role, then I will view this more positively as a sign that the healing may have begun.

Or...........simply need a job like many others and while it may be short lived I am sure he will be well paid. I guess there is really not a hiring freeze on at Nortel

Sounds promising; he is a big fish but why no press release from Nortel. And to whom does he report to? Questions; inquiring minds want to know…--bb

Good question! I found it interesting that this happened "last month" but just now made the press. And there was absolutely *no* internal announcement. Normally there is much fanfare when someone with a "name" from outside the company joins Nortel. No announcement at RTP at all, despite the fact that McHugh will be based in Raleigh. Something does smell a bit fishy about this one...so much for the "transparency" the Z-team keeps promising us!

Transparency left him long time ago...--bb

According to OSM, he reports to David Downing. Downing reports to Hackney.

Then it's just a job, unless David is planning a coup...--bb

One could only hope!! Hackney kept David, while he sacked many others. At least he could recognize David's talents and not allowing the threat to guide his decision. I guess Hackney figured he could slap and pull David's hair if he got out of line.