Alcatel-Lucent CEO Michel Combes will leave his post next month and take on a new role at cable group Altice in September, according to reports in the French press.
Combes will take responsibility for the development of Altice in Europe, Reuters claimed, citing French magazine Challenges.
There has been no official comment from either Alcatel-Lucent or Altice.
A seasoned telecoms executive with positions at Vodafone and France Telecom on his CV, Combes took the top job at Alcatel-Lucent in April 2013 and has spent the past two years turning around the vendor’s fortunes.
When Nokia agreed to acquire Alcatel-Lucent earlier this year it was clear from the outset that the new merged entity will be led by current Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri.
"I will remain a demanding shareholder," Combes said at the time.
There was little doubt then that he would leave Alcatel-Lucent sooner or later, and a move to a leading role at another major French telecoms player seems a highly likely outcome.
Altice is having a growth spurt.
The cable group acquired French mobile operator SFR last year and last week closed the acquisition of Portugal Telecom.
It has also made a move to break into the U.S., announcing recently that it has agreed to acquire cable operator Suddenlink in a deal that values it at $9.1 billion.
Late last week Altice announced that Combes has stepped down as an independent non-executive director of the company, a move that has been seen as a precursor to a management appointment.
