Alcatel-Lucent SA, the world's largest supplier of fixed-line phone networks, gained for a second day in Paris trading on speculation the company will hire former manager Mike Quigley as chief executive officer.

Alcatel-Lucent rose 0.6 percent, adding to yesterday's 4.7 percent advance. The nomination committee of the Alcatel-Lucent board wants Quigley as CEO, replacing Patricia Russo, according to Le Canard Enchaine, a Paris-based weekly newspaper. Russo and Chairman Serge Tchuruk said last month they're leaving Alcatel- Lucent, based in the French capital.

Quigley, 55, had been considered for the CEO job at Alcatel SA before the company bought Lucent Technologies Inc. in 2006. Tchuruk said in April 2005 that Quigley was in a ``good position'' to head the French company. Quigley left Alcatel- Lucent a year ago and returned to his native Australia.

``We would want someone with global experience, with a proven track record,'' said David Eiswert, an analyst at Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group Inc., which manages $388 billion and bought 6.4 million Alcatel-Lucent shares in the second quarter. ``Quigley would be a very good choice. He knows the company, he's dealt with people in France and the U.S. and he's from Australia.''

Alcatel-Lucent rose 2.5 cents to close at 4.12 euros in Paris, after gaining as much as 6.4 percent earlier. The stock has fallen 49 percent in the past year.

Merger Architects

Stephane Lapeyrade, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment on the report or the names of nominees for the job. The stock rose in late trading yesterday after Le Canard Enchaine released advance copies of today's edition.

Quigley couldn't immediately be located for comment. Former French Finance Minister Thierry Breton is also a candidate for the CEO post, Le Canard Enchaine reported.

The phone-equipment maker said July 29 that Russo, 56, would step down by the end of the year, while Tchuruk, 70, will leave Oct. 1. The two were the architects of a merged company that racked up $7 billion in losses, shed 60 percent of its market value and is eliminating 16,500 jobs.

Alcatel-Lucent reported its sixth quarterly loss last month. The loss in the quarter through June widened to 1.1 billion euros from 586 million euros a year earlier, hurt by a writedown at a unit that supplies wireless networks based on code division multiple access, or CDMA.

Career History

``The difficult marketplace, the declines in some core business areas and the very tough competition remain very much in place,'' Peter Knox, a London-based analyst at Pali International, said yesterday. The next CEO ``certainly has his work cut out for him.''

Quigley quit Alcatel-Lucent in August 2007, nine months after being named president of science, technology and strategy. He had been president and chief operating officer at Alcatel from April 2005 to November 2006.

Quigley was appointed chief executive of Alcatel USA in 2000, after moving to Dallas in 1999 to become chief operating officer of the unit. He added the job of North America president in 2001 and became head of Alcatel's fixed communications unit in 2003.

The Australian national started his career in 1971 as a cadet electrical engineer at ITT Australia, which was bought by Alcatel in 1987. He got his first shot at running a business in 1996 after being appointed general manager for Australia and New Zealand, taking charge of Alcatel's business there.

Quigley has degrees in physics and mathematics and electrical engineering from the University of New South Wales. Born in England, he moved to Australia with his family at the age of 12. Quigley holds both Australian and British passports.

The fact that Quigley is an Australian may shield him from infighting between French and U.S. members on Alcatel-Lucent's board, said Odon de Laporte, an analyst at Cheuvreux in Paris. ``He's neutral,'' the analyst said. ``He won't be influenced by political considerations.'' Laporte rates the stock ``underperform.''

Source:Bloomberg