Ben Verwaayen’s Keynote

Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, gave the keynote this morning at EmTech09. Here are reports from around the Web on what he had to say.

The Industry Standard:

EmTech: Innovation’s Achilles heel, and misreading the Facebook generation
Furthering innovation is a given, but you also have to identify technologies that will resonate with consumers – not to mention building sustainable business models around them. This is the world that Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen inhabits…

Gigaom:

Alcatel-Lucent CEO’s 3 Ingredients for a Successful Product
He spoke of tech innovations and – perhaps most importantly – the need to turn them into sustainable, profitable businesses. During the question-and-answer session, which always manages to be more interesting than the actual talk, Verwaayen shared his three requirements for a product to be successful…

Reuters:

Alcatel says not in talks with big rivals
The chief executive of telecommunications equipment giant Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA) said his company is not in merger talks with any of its rivals, dismissing speculation a deal might be in the works. “There is nothing going on,” Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen told Reuters in an interview…