Nortel Networks fired its president and CEO, Frank Dunn, last week, along with its chief financial officer, Douglas Beatty, and Controller Michael Gillogly. The terminations follow mounting disclosures of accounting troubles at the telecommunications equipment maker.
Nortel tapped William Owens, who has been a director of the company since February 2002, as the new president and CEO. Previously, Owens was chairman and CEO of Teledesic, a satellite communications company.
Nortels board chairman, Lynton Wilson, said the firings are about accountability for financial reporting.
Nortels disclosures of faulty bookkeeping follow a rash of similar accounting scandals at a number of large technology companies, including WorldCom (now called MCI), Computer Associates and Adelphia Communications.