Borchert to head combined Nokia-Alcatel-Lucent in Europe, Weldon to be CTO

Nokia has announced that Markus Borchert will become the Head of Europe in the new merger of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent with a brief to oversee the combined company’s customer operations across Europe.

Borchert is currently Nokia Networks’ Senior VP for Europe, having previously been Nokia’s President of the Greater China Region from 2012 to 2015 and Head of Customer Operations in China. Borchert will report to the combined company’s Chief Customer Operation Officer, Ashish Chowdhary.

The proposed appointment is effective only after the successful completion of the merger, which hinges on Nokia’s public exchange offer for ownership of 50% of the share capital in Alcatel-Lucent on a fully diluted basis gaining approval.

In October Telecoms.com reported on the new planned senior leadership team and organisational structure for the combined Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent, but at the time no reference was made to current A-Lu CTO and President of Bell Labs Marcus Weldon.

A recent Light Reading report named him as the future CTO of the combined company, a move we have subsequently had confirmed by both Nokia and A-Lu. It’s not yet clear how Weldon’s responsibilities will compare with those of future Chief Innovation and Operating Officer Marc Rouanne and current Nokia CTO Hossein Moiin.