Nortel's Next CEO?
Any bets on Mike Zafirovski becoming the next CEO of Nortel? Safirovski quite as Motorola Inc.'s COO today - a year after he was passed over to become CEO when Chris Galvin left. One analyst said Safirovski really wants to be a CEO, and he'd be a great fit for Nortel. But does he really want to take over Nortel at this time? The up side is how much worse can it get at Nortel? Anything a new CEO would look positive in comparison.
Whenever it comes to a new CEO at Nortel, I always get the sense the Canadian government is looming in the wings and encouraging the company to hire a Canuck. There is speculation this is one of the reasons Frank Dunn got the job in 2001. In any event, I do not think Bill Owens will be Nortel's CEO by year-end. I do see him becoming chairman, though.
