It looks like Mike Zafirovski is wasting no time revamping Nortel's management team. According to UBS Securities, the executives shown the door recently include chief research officer Brian McFadden and Sue Spradley, president of global services and operations. Both McFadden and Spradley were long-time Nortel executives who had been shuffled around recently. They were also among the group of senior executives who "voluntarily" returned large bonuses in the wake of Nortel's accounting scandal.
So who's next on the hit list? While it would be a major surprise if CFO Peter Currie leaves the company (Zafirovski has made some positive public statements about Currie), you have to wonder about Steve Slattery and Richard Lowe. In yet another corporate reorganization unveiled in September that split the company into two product groups, Slattery was appointed head of Nortel's corporate and packet networks business while Lowe  was named head of  wireless and converged core networks. Niether long-time executive was seen as a star within Nortel so you have to wonder whether Zafirovski will keep them in such key posititions. Like a baseball manager or football coach who wants to be surrounded by his own people, Zafirovski will likely recruit people he knows and trusts. His settlement with Motorola - where he spent five years before leaving in January after losing a bid to become CEO  - will keep him from poaching former colleagues - at least for awhile. But look for him to start shuffling Nortel's management ranks in short order as he works on this turnaround plan.