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Patricia F. Russo (born 1953 in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American businessperson most widely...

Patricia F. Russo (born 1953 in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American businessperson most widely known for having served as chief executive officer of Lucent Technologies and its successor, Alcatel-Lucent, a large communications equipment manufacturer. Forbes magazine rated Russo as the tenth on its list of the most powerful women in 2006. Russo joined Lucent's predecessor in 1982. In 1992 she became the president of its Business Communications Systems division, moving in 1997 to become its executive VP of corporate operations, and in 1999 to its executive VP and CEO of the Service Provider Networks Group She left in August 2000, after a reorganization, but returned in January 2002 to become its CEO. After "cutting costs and focusing on sales of wireless equipment, Russo was credited with returning Lucent to profitability in 2004, after three years of red ink." On April 2, 2006 it was announced that Russo would assume the CEO role of a new combined company resulting from the merger of the French communications company Alcatel and Lucent. This merger became effective on December 1, 2006. When Russo became the CEO of the combined company, Serge Tchuruk, the former CEO of Alcatel,