Alcatel Names Krish Prabhu Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel Telecom.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 1999--

Alcatel (NYSE:ALA) has announced that Krish Prabhu, 45, has been named Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel Telecom.

Prabhu will succeed Jozef Cornu, 55, who, after a 26 year career with the company, will become Executive Assistant to the Chairman (Serge Tchuruk), in charge of strategic marketing for key customers. Prabhu will assume his new role on October 1 and will retain his current responsibilities as President and Chief Executive Officer for Alcatel USA.

"Krish has played a key role in moving Alcatel toward the forefront of today's telecommunications solutions providers in the U.S.," said Mr. Tchuruk. "His vision and judgment have been instrumental in the recent acquisitions of several data networking companies, enabling us to address the Internet infrastructure needs of our customers worldwide. I am fully confident that Krish will carry forward and build effectively upon the foundation Jo Cornu has laid for us throughout his distinguished career in the telecommunications industry," Mr. Tchuruk added.

Mr. Prabhu began his telecommunications career with AT&T's Bell Laboratories where he was a senior member of the Technical Staff. In 1984, he joined Rockwell International's Network Transmission Division. After Rockwell's Transmission unit was acquired by Alcatel in 1991, he served as Vice President of Business Development and Chief Technical Officer at Alcatel Network Systems. In this capacity, he oversaw research, product development and business development activities.

Most recently, Prabhu served as Senior Executive Vice President of Alcatel Telecom, where he was responsible for the worldwide Internet and Optics Group. He will continue to be based in Dallas.

He has Ph.D. and M.S. Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.S. Degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India.

Jozef Cornu began his career in 1973 at ITT and was named general manager of Bell Telephone, the Belgian subsidiary of ITT, in 1984. In January 1988, he became a member of the Board of Management of Alcatel NV. Since October 1995, he has been Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel Telecom. He will be proposed as a member of the Board of Directors of Alcatel SA.

Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 21.3 billion ($25.0 billion), Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on Internet: http:/www.alcatel.com.