Curt Sanford and Mukesh Chatter have left the building

May 8, 2000

1 Min Read
Lucent Loses Two Big Names

LAS VEGAS, NV -- Lucent http://www.lucent.comhas lost two top tier employees.

Lucent has announced that Curtis Sanford, president of the Lucent internetworking systems group, has quit. And reliable sources say Mukesh Chatter, vice president of general manager of Lucent's core routing technologies group, has also given his notice.

Sanford was in charge of data networking products for both service provider and enterprise markets. In terms of seniority, he was Lucent’s number ten man. Chatter was responsible for Lucent’s terabit router product line. He was formerly CEO and founder of Nexabit Networks, a company bought by Lucent for $750 million.

Lucent announced Sanford's resignation Monday, May 8. According to the press release, "Curt Sanford ... has elected to leave the company to spend more time with his family." His job will be taken by Janet Davidson, former president of Lucent's InterNetworking Systems Access Networks group.

News of Chatter's resignation was first leaked by UBS Warburg http://www.ubsw.com, an investment bank. It’s since been confirmed by several other networking companies.

So far, there's little information about where the two will be working. “We’ve heard that Curt Sanford hasn’t decided what to do yet, and that Mukesh Chatter is leaving for a startup,” says Desh Deshpande, chairman of Sycamore Networks Inc. http://www.sycamorenet.com.

Like other optical networking companies, Lucent has been plagued by a staff turnover of late, as executives and engineers leave to take lucrative positions within startup companies (see 50 Ways To Leave Your Lucent ).

Lucent did not return phone calls.

--Stephen Saunders, US Editor, Light Reading http://www.lightreading.com

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