More of the Same?

Tellabs picks an insider for its CEO

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

February 26, 2008

1 Min Read
More of the Same?

10:08 AM -- You have to wonder if Tellabs is really doing the right thing by having an insider become its CEO. Wasn't a big problem of Krish Prabhu's tenure the fact that chairman Micheal J. Birck was still giving the appearance of being the boss?

Birck was apparently more visible to employees than Prabhu. And under Prabhu, the Tellabs senior exec team hardly changed at all and insiders say Birck never really let go of the steering wheel -- that after years of letting many of the top executives from its various acquisitions walk right out the door.

For a company so desperately in need of reinvigoration, it's odd that the Tellabs board would pick a career Tellabs executive that hasn't worked anywhere else in 23 years.

— Phil Harvey, Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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