U.S.-based cellphone maker Motorola Inc. has gone to court seeking to block former president Mike Zafirovski from becoming CEO of Nortel Networks Corp., two days after he was tapped to head the Canadian technology giant.
The lawsuit, revealed by Nortel last week, alleges, among other things, that Zafirovski, who resigned earlier this year as Motorola's president and chief operating officer, had breached various agreements with the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company by accepting the top job at Nortel.
It seeks to stop Zafirovski from working for Nortel for two years and also claims his new position will inevitably result in the use or disclosure of Motorola's trade secrets to a rival company, Nortel said.
The legal action was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., two days after Zafirovski was appointed as president and chief executive of Nortel, effective Nov. 15.
"The lawsuit seeks, among other relief, an injunction to enjoin Zafirovski from rendering services to Nortel for two years, from soliciting or hiring Motorola employees, and from utilizing or disclosing Motorola's confidential information," Nortel said in a statement.
"The lawsuit does not name Nortel as a defendant, but the injunctive relief requested is against Zafirovski and his employers, among others."
Nortel said the Canadian company and Zafirovski "are currently reviewing the lawsuit and intend to pursue discussions with Motorola with a view to resolving the dispute over Zafirovski's appointment."
The company had no further comment.
Zafirovski, 51, was chosen to replace former U.S. admiral William Owens, who is stepping down as president and CEO of Nortel. At a recent news conference, Owens, 65, said the company is entering a new phase in its recovery from a major financial crisis and needs a younger leader at the helm.
Zafirovski had been the No. 2 executive at Motorola until leaving last January after five years in the upper echelons of the company and 25 years in the executive ranks of General Electric, the world's biggest industrial company.
Although Zafirovski doesn't officially take over from Owens until next month, it was clear at the Toronto news conference that he's ready to hit the ground running - starting with meetings with Nortel staff and the media.
Zafirovski said he admires Nortel but made it clear that he thinks it can do better for shareholders.
"We spend $1.8 billion US a year (on research) and frankly, that's an investment amount that is very appealing," Zafirovski said.
"I can't wait to get my fingernails dirty with the product managers, the engineers (and) with Bill and the management team to see where and how to deploy it even better for the stakeholders."
Meanwhile, the CEO of Telus Mobility is jumping to rival Bell Canada, taking over as chief operating officer at Canada's biggest telephone company.
George Cope, who will join Bell in January, won't be involved in the firm's wireless business initially but will take on a broad swath of responsibilities including residential services that include the wireline, Internet and video businesses.
"I have long regarded George as one of the leading telecom executives in North America," said Michael Sabia, CEO of Bell and corporate parent company BCE Inc.
"I am convinced his entrepreneurial style will make a major contribution to the changes under way at Bell Canada."
Telus CEO Darren Entwistle was gracious at the loss. "George is a tremendous talent in the Canadian telecommunications industry and he will be missed by the excellent leadership team at Telus," Entwistle said in a release.
Cope was president and CEO of Clearnet Communications Inc. when Telus bought the upstart mobile phone company in 2000 for $6.6 billion and put him in charge of the Telus Mobility wireless business.
The deal, which was called the largest telecom acquisition in Canadian history at the time, gave Telus a national network overnight to compete with rivals Microcell, Rogers and Bell.
The loss of Cope comes as Telus works to move past a bitter labour dispute.
While employees continue to walk the picket line, Telus and the Telecommunications Workers Union reached a tentative five-year deal earlier this month to end the walkout, which began in late July.
Terms have not been revealed pending a ratification vote, which was expected to be completed by Oct. 23.
