NORTEL NETWORKS
The Canadian-based provider of equipment to telecommunications operators, Nortel Networks, has made sweeping changes to its North Asia management team. The company has appointed Masood Tariq (below), now president of its Asia operations, as president, global alliances. In his new position, Mr Tariq will leave Hong Kong and return to North America early in the spring, where he will focus on alliances and partnerships involving managing and enhancing present arrangements, as well as accelerating development of new relationships spanning telecoms, information technology, information services, computing, hardware and software. The company also announced that Robert Mao, now an adviser to Nortel Networks president Frank Dunn, will become president and chief executive of Nortel China. He will be responsible for the Greater China region. Yuan-hao Lin, now acting president, Nortel China, will become chief operating officer, Nortel China. John Giamatteo, to date responsible for sales in Japan and South Korea, will be responsible for sales across the Asia-Pacific.
GSM ASSOCIATION
A former chairman of Hong Kong mobile-phone network operator Sunday, Craig Ehrlich (above right) has been appointed chairman of the GSM Association's CEO Interim Board. Mr Ehrlich is still an executive board member of Sunday. The GSM Association aims to accelerate the development of GSM wireless services for consumers globally. Over the past six months, Mr Ehrlich has acted as chairman of the association's CEO Advisory Board, which devised the landmark structural changes to the governance of the body. The CEO Interim Board comprises chief executive-level representatives of network operators including Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, China Mobile, SingTel Group, Cingular Wireless, Telecom Italia Mobile, Sonera and AT&T Wireless.
Mr Ehrlich has worked in the communications industry for 23 years and has lived and worked in Hong Kong since 1987, when he joined Hutchison Telecom. In March 2000, Mr Ehrlich successfully led the initial public offering of the Sunday group on both the Nasdaq and the Hong Kong stock exchange.
NEC
