Speaking of Paris…the Alcatel and Lucent merger

Russ DeVeau Paris Russell DeVeau Paris Alcatel Russ DeVeauHere’s another photo from my days supporting Alcatel communications, editorial and media training initiatives directly from Paris.

I was standing in front of Alcatel’s corporate headquarters – which was located at 54-56 rue de la Boétie, in the 8th arrondissement – when this picture was taken. My French language and speaking skills were tested many times during the numerous meetings and creative sessions I had the opportunity to attend in this building.

The apartment I was living in at the time was located behind from where I am standing in this picture, a few blocks away on Boulevard Haussmann. It was a very short walk from my apartment to the Alcatel building.

I worked with a lot of very talented teams at Alcatel for just about four years, right up until the time when the company merged with Lucent in 2006. Here’s a link to the New York Times story – which was coordinated by communications teams in New York and Paris – announcing the merger. It was huge industry-changing news at the time.

I began working on a variety of HP Telecom initiatives shortly after the Alcatel Lucent merger took place.

My HP colleagues – another group of highly skilled communications professionals – were based in Silicon Valley. I took a lot of New York City to San Francisco red-eye flights during my time supporting HP Telecom. – Russ DeVeau