Qwest Pulls the Cord on CEO Nacchio

Open season on high-profile CEOs continued Monday with news that Joseph Nacchio was ousted as chief executive of Qwest(Q Quote) and replaced by Tellabs CEO and former Ameritech chief Richard C. Notebaert.

Nacchio, whose job in the past six months has been reduced largely to trying to convince shareholders that the debt-laden company had enough money to avoid bankruptcy, reportedly learned Friday of the board's plan to replace him.

The ouster ends a stormy five years in which Qwest transformed itself from a fiber-optic data service carrier to a full-service phone carrier via the acquisition of U S West in 2000. But the company has suffered from the same over-capacity that sunk rivals like Global Crossing and cost Bernard Ebbers, the CEO of WorldCom, his job a month ago.

The company has also recently come under regulatory scrutiny for the way it accounted for transactions in which it swapped capacity rights on its network. Nacchio has also been criticized for cashing out several hundred million dollars of Qwest stock over the years.

Notebaert's low-key management philosophy will be a sharp departure from the loudmouthed style of Naccio, who built Qwest from a $600,000-a-year in revenue start-up in 1997 to the $20 billion behemoth it is now.

Qwest's board said in a press release: "When Joe Nacchio came on board in 1997, Qwest was a very different company. We had a foundation, but needed a leader to bring technology and a vision to life and grow Qwest into a full-service communications company.

"We must now focus on rebuilding shareholder value and ensuring that Qwest's employees, partners and customers can benefit from our strengths. We need an experienced new leader with strong operational skills for the next phase of the company's development."