Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784. Russo is most widely known for having served as
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
, and its successor,
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel–Lucent S.A. () was a French–American global telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of France-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent, the latter being a su ...
, a large communications equipment manufacturer. As of 2020, she serves on the board of directors of
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
Arconic
Arconic Corporation is an American industrial company specializing in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing. Arconic's products are used worldwide in aerospace, automotive, commercial transportation, packaging, building and constructio ...
, Inc. She serves as chairwoman of the nonprofit organization, Partnership at Drugfree.org. Prior to the split of Hewlett-Packard into two companies in 2015, Russo served as lead independent director. She now serves as chairwoman of
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) is an American multinational information technology company based in Spring, Texas, United States.
HPE was founded on November 1, 2015, in Palo Alto, California, as part of the splitting of the H ...
.
''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
Russo joined Lucent's predecessor in 1982.Lucent's Next Leader a January 2002 article from LightReading.com In 1992, she became President of the Business Communications Systems division, moving in 1997 to become the executive vice president of Corporate Operations, and in 1999 to executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Service Provider Networks Group. She left in August 2000, after a reorganization; however, returned in January 2002 to become the chief executive officer. After "cutting costs and focusing on sales of wireless equipment, Russo was credited with returning Lucent to profitability in 2004, after three years of red ink." However, profits that year "came largely through slashes in spending, cuts to retiree benefits, and reductions in research-and-development budgets that spurred protests."Patricia Russo /ref>
On April 2, 2006, it was announced that Russo would be chief executive officer of a new combined company resulting from the merger of the French communications company
Alcatel Alcatel may refer to:
* Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia
* Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...
and Lucent. This merger became effective on December 1, 2006. When Russo became the chief executive officer of the combined company,
Serge Tchuruk
Serge Tchurukdichian (born 13 November 1937), known as Serge Tchuruk, is a French businessman of Armenians, Armenian descent. He was the chief executive officer and chairman of Alcatel-Lucent, Alcatel (a global telecommunications company (law), ...
, the former chief executive officer of
Alcatel Alcatel may refer to:
* Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia
* Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...
, remained as chairman.
The newly combined entity failed to turn a profit, and as a result, the company's management team resorted to rounds of restructuring and layoffs to address what were considered "challenging market conditions".Alcatel-Lucent Posts Big Loss, Plans Further Job Cuts /ref> The board eventually decided to oust the management team, and on July 29, 2008, Russo, along with Alcatel-Lucent chairman Serge Tchuruk, announced that she would step down by the end of 2008, in a broad-reaching management restructuring.CEO and Chairman Out at Alcatel-Lucent /ref> Significant changes in the composition of the company's board were also announced. Alcatel-Lucent shares had lost more than 60% of their value since the merger.
In the statement released by Alcatel-Lucent relating to her departure, Russo was quoted as saying, "The company will benefit from new leadership aligned with a newly composed board to bring a fresh and independent perspective that will take Alcatel-Lucent to its next level of growth and development in a rapidly changing global market.". On September 2, 2008, she was replaced by
Ben Verwaayen
Bernardus Johannes Maria "Ben" Verwaayen Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau (born 11 February 1952) is a Dutch businessman and a general partner of Keen Venture Partners.
He was Chief Executive Officer of telecommunications company Alcatel-Luce ...
.
Other activities
Russo spent nine months as the chief operations officer of
Eastman Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
, a position she left in January 2002 when she returned to Lucent to become their chief executive officer. She was also Chairwoman of
Avaya
Avaya Holdings Corp., often shortened to Avaya (), is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, that provides cloud communications and workstream collaboration services. The company's platform includ ...
, which was spun off from Lucent. Avaya, however, filed for bankruptcy in January 2017.
On July 23, 2009, General Motors announced that Russo would be a member of the company's new board of directors.
Personal life
Russo was born in Trenton, New Jersey and had six siblings. When she was in high school, she was active in sports and even became captain of a cheerleading squad before graduating from Lawrence High School in 1969. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. in 1973.