There’s a new face at Juniper Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: JNPR). Lloyd Carney, a former Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT) executive, has just been appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO).

”We’re scaling the business in four markets: core, access, mobile, and cable,” says Carl Showalter, vice president of marketing for Juniper. “Lloyd helps provide the breadth and depth we need on the management side.”

This is quite a change for Juniper, as Scott Kriens, Juniper's president and CEO, has managed the day-to-day operations of the company since 1996.

Carney was listed today on the company’s Website, but no formal announcement has been released. Juniper officials today confirmed with Light Reading that Carney was appointed COO on January 1, 2002. The company plans to announce his appointment during its fourth quarter 2001 earnings call scheduled for Tuesday, January 15th.

Before joining Juniper, Carney was president of the wireless Internet division at Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT). He has been in the business for over 20 years, holding managerial positions at Bay Networks, Wellfleet, and Proteon.

“It makes sense that the company would bring someone in,” says Steve Kamman, an analyst with CIBC World Markets.

The move indicates the company is moving toward more diversification. Last November the company announced the acquisition of Pacific Broadband Communications (PBC), a cable equipment provider. This was the company’s first acquisition away from its primary target market, core routing. Since the acquisition, CEO Kriens has worked hard to spin the acquisition as an extension of Juniper’s focused strategy (see Juniper CEO: Still Laser Focused). The company has also been pushing its wireless strategy for the past several months, even launching a joint venture with Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERICY) to develop new wireless technology.

“It’s definitely a sign that they are moving toward diversification,” says Kamman. “I think it’s a positive move to get someone in there to help manage all these different parts of the business. Whether the move into other areas is good for the company as whole, remains to be seen.”

According to his profile on the Juniper Website, Carney will help the company “scale its access, core, cable, and mobile market solution efforts.” In particular, he will oversee marketing, engineering, sales, customer service, and manufacturing operations.

The big question now is whether or not Juniper will be looking to get into other markets, now that it has the manpower to expand. The addition of Carney could certainly indicate that they will, says Kamman.

Today Juniper's stock closed down 0.74 (3.50%) to 20.38.

— Marguerite Reardon, Senior Editor, Light Reading
http://www.lightreading.com