Marcus Weldon will take the role of CTO and President of Bell Labs at Nokia once the Finnish vendor completes its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent, Light Reading has learned.

Weldon, currently CTO and El Presidente at Bell Labs , did not feature in the list of post-acquisition senior executive names issued by Nokia a few weeks ago, an omission that sparked questions about the future role of the charismatic Brit. (See AlcaLu Execs Lose Out as Nokia Unveils New Top Team.)

At that time, Weldon said he was waiting to hear about any offers of roles at Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) but was hopeful of joining the Finnish firm.

Now, following a tip-off from a source who requested anonymity, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) has confirmed that Weldon will transfer his current job titles over to Nokia next year.

It is unclear how Weldon's role will relate to that of Marc Rouanne, who was named as chief innovation and operating officer (CIOO) at the "new" Nokia: Rouanne's responsibilities include driving "cutting-edge innovation at internet speed throughout Nokia, using the power of Bell Labs and FutureWorks to shape Nokia's vision across the business groups," according to the vendor's official announcement last month.

Also unclear is the role that will be taken at the expanded Nokia by Hossein Moiin, Nokia's current CTO, though Light Reading believes he will continue to be part of the senior technology team.

Figure 1: Hug a Box Today! Like any CTO worthy of the title, Marcus Weldon likes to get close and personal to next-gen technology.

The appointment of Weldon is likely to be seen as a positive for Nokia: He has been credited with transforming Bell Labs and re-energizing the role of the R&D facility since he became its president in November 2013. Most recently he launched the first ever Bell Labs book, The Future X Network, about how networks will transform in an era of "digitization" and the "connection of everything." (See AlcaLu Breathes New Life Into Bell Labs.)

The news of Weldon's appointment comes in the same week that two of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent's main rivals, Cisco and Ericsson, announced a strategic partnership that, many believe, is in part a response to the impending creation of NokAlu. (See Cisco + Ericsson: Analyst Reactions.)

— Ray Le Maistre, , Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading