Ahmed Severs Ties With Sonus

Hassan Ahmed, who ran Sonus Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: SONS) for a tumultuous decade from 1998 to 2008, has severed his ties with the VoIP equipment vendor by resigning from the company's board.

Sonus announced Tuesday that Ahmed, who stepped down as CEO earlier this year after a lucrative 2007, "retired as a director and Chairman" on December 11. (See Ex-Moto CTO Tabbed to Run Sonus and Sonus Bonus.)

The company says it "expects to elect a new Chairman in the near future."

During his tenure at Sonus the company endured a series of financial mishaps while building up a strong position in the IP voice equipment sector. See:

• Sonus Boasts VOIP Leadership
• Sonus Opens Options Probe
• Sonus Chief: Come Fly With Me!
• Sonus Promises, Promises
• Nasdaq to Delist Sonus
• Sonus Soothes Numbers Nerves
• Sonus Drops a Bomb

Ahmed's successor as CEO, Richard Nottenburg, who has been hiring and firing to build a new senior team, now faces a number of fiscal and operational challenges of his own. See:

• Sonus Culls Staff
• Sonus CTO Departing
• Slowdown Crunches Sonus
• Sonus Slumps on Slower Growth Outlook
• Investor Letter Takes Swipe at Sonus
• Another Sonus VP Splits

Nottenburg's latest appointment is Gurudutt 'Guru' Pai, who joined on December 11 as senior VP with responsibility for the company's "sales and services organizations, business development and corporate strategy functions." (See Sonus Names Guru VP.)

Pai commands an annual salary of $275,000 and "is eligible for an 'on target bonus' of 50% of his annual base salary subject to the achievement of specific objectives," according to an SEC filing. [Ed note: But does he get Ahmed's parking space?]

Pai, who joined from Web video systems specialist Veveo Inc. , has previously held executive positions at Lucent, Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T).

Sonus's share price closed Monday at $1.44.

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading