Who's Zooming Who?

An Australian outfit called ARNnet has put together a list of the 50 most powerful people in networking. Not surprisingly, Cisco's John Chambers leads the pack. What's surprising is Nortel CEO Bill Owens comes in at #40 – ahead of Vonage's Jeff Citron and Google's Eric Schmidt.
Clearly, the folks at ARNnet must have indulged in too much holiday cheer to include Owens among the networking industry's elite. Sure, he heads up a US$10 billion company but he got the job because no one else wanted it. Since he took the helm in April, the only area where Owens has shown any real expertise is his ability to make promises that Nortel can't keep – can anyone say four self-induced postpoinements of Nortel's financial restatement?
You have to admire Owens' military record, his willingness to accept an ugly job, and the calming influence he has brought to Nortel. But it is also important to remember Owens has minimal telecom experience and will likely be replaced as CEO as soon as Nortel gets grounded.