Nortel Networks Corp. has a new chief technology officer (CTO). The Brampton, Ontario-based telecommunications infrastructure company last week announced that it had appointed former Cisco Systems Inc. Chief Science Officer Gary Kunis to the post.
Kunis replaces Brian McFadden, who will now serve as Nortel’s chief research officer, after serving less than a year in the CTO position. Both McFadden and Kunis will report to Nortel’s president and chief operating officer, Gary Daichendt.
As chief research officer, McFadden will run the company’s research efforts, while Kunis will set the “strategic vision” for the company’s products and technologies, Nortel said in a statement.
A Cisco employee until 2002, Kunis was responsible for a number of “development and engineering breakthroughs” related to networking technology, said Marion MacKenzie, a Nortel spokeswoman.
Since 2002, Kunis has served as an advisor to a number of technology companies and has been a private investor in the biotechnology sector, she said.