Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent was established as a result of the merger of French mobile-infrastructure supplier Alcatel and its American rival Lucent Technologies in 2006.

Headquartered in Paris, France, the company employs some 77,000 people in more than 130 countries. Ranked 325th on the 2008 Fortune Global 500, Alcatel-Lucent provides hardware, software and services to telecommunications services providers and enterprises around the world.

In a bid to turn its fortunes around, the Paris-based maker of telecommunications recently recruited retired BT Group CEO Ben Verwaayen as Alcatel-Lucent's chief executive and former aerospace executive at EADS Philippe Camus as chairman.