TORONTO -- Frank Dunn, president and chief executive officer of Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT)(TSX:NT), today announced that Masood Tariq has been appointed to a new senior executive position - president, global alliances. Tariq, currently president, Asia, now also assumes responsibility for leading, strengthening and expanding the company's strategic alliance program. In his new position, Tariq, who will return to North America early in the spring of 2003, will continue to report to Dunn. In making today's announcement, Dunn said Tariq will have the strategically important role of increasing the company's focus on alliances and partnerships. This involves managing and enhancing current arrangements, as well as accelerating development of new relationships spanning telecom, information technology, information services, computing, hardware and software. "The appointment of Masood to this new position is an important element of our strategy going forward," Dunn said. "Computing and communications are increasingly coming together to deliver improved innovation, so it is essential that we expand and accelerate our cross-industry alliances and partnerships. This will bolster our ability to bring new services and solutions to our customers." Tariq said he'll be working closely with the Nortel Networks business units and the company's chief technology officer to ensure the company's strategy fully leverages strategic alliances and partnerships globally. These, he added, "are crucial today for the information technology and software industries as they look to integrate telecommunications technologies and capabilities in providing greater customer value." With Tariq returning to North America, the company also announced that Robert Mao, currently an advisor to Dunn, will return to Nortel Networks in January as president and chief executive officer, Nortel China. Mao will be responsible for the Greater China region and will report to Dunn. Yuan-Hao Lin, currently acting president, Nortel China, will become chief operating officer, Nortel China, reporting to Mao. John Giamatteo, who to date has been responsible for sales in Japan and Korea, will be responsible for sales across the whole Asia Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, India, the ASEAN countries, and Pakistan. Giamatteo will work closely with Tariq to ensure continuity during the transition period. Commenting on these changes, Dunn said, "Greater China and Asia Pacific are extremely important strategic regions for Nortel Networks. We continue to increase our focus and investments in these regions, underpinned by strengthened customer engagement and clear lines of accountability for delivering customer satisfaction and value. This is critical in such highly-competitive markets, and it accounts for the gains we're making in Greater China and Asia Pacific." Nortel Networks Corp.