Patricia Russo

Career at Lucent Russo joined Lucent's predecessor in 1982. 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.

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 and Lucent. This merger became effective on December 1, 2006. When Russo became the chief executive officer of the combined company, Serge Tchuruk, the former chief executive officer of 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". 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. 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. On September 2, 2008, she was replaced by Ben Verwaayen.

Other activities Russo spent nine months as the chief operations officer of Eastman Kodak, a position she left in January 2002 when she returned to Lucent to become their chief executive officer.

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.