PARIS - At Britain's BT Group, Ben Verwaayen was lauded for transforming the money-losing phone company into a profitable and aggressive leader in broadband Internet access.

Alcatel-Lucent will be looking for him to match that performance when he comes in as part of a new management tandem responsible for reversing a six- quarter earnings slide that has rung up $7 billion in losses. The world's largest manufacturer of fixed-line telecommunications gear appointed Verwaayen on Tuesday as its CEO and former EADS co-CEO Philippe Camus as its new chairman.

Verwaayen, who is Dutch, and Camus, who is French, replace the U.S. and French executives behind the $11.4 billion deal that combined France's Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent Technologies two years ago. Verwaayen replaces CEO Patricia Russo effective immediately, while Camus will replace Serge Tchuruk -- long Alcatel's top executive -- next month.

The company employs about 330 at its Raleigh office, where workers research fiber-optic technology.

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