The founders of telecom equipment giant Alcatel-Lucent, Serge Tchuruk and Patricia Russo, resigned to allow the French-US group to make a fresh start after suffering six straight quarterly losses.

The dramatic shake-up followed rumours that one or other might leave the company and that their respective management styles had contributed to the group's difficulties.

Just 20 months after the mega transatlantic tie-up, Alcatel-Lucent and its two marriage brokers signalled that the the company had to clear the way for a new beginning.

The news appeared to cheer investors, with shares in Alcatel-Lucent gaining 2.09 per rcent to close at USD 6.1 on a generally weaker Paris market.

Alcatel-Lucent reported a second-quarter loss of USD 1.7 billion and signalled coming changes in governance. The price of the shares rose 4.44 per cent to USD 6.24.

This was sixth quarterly loss in a row and came amid a global restructuring to shed 16,500 jobs by 2009.

Tchuruk, the 70-year-old non-executive chairman who will leave office on October 1, said, "The merger phase is now behind us."

"The time has come for this company to acquire an identity which is its own, independent from those of the two original companies."

Alcatel-Lucent said Russo, a 56-year-old American, had decided to resign her post as chief executive by the end of the year but would "continue to direct the group to ensure the transition."

Russo herself explained that "a new general board and a recomposed supervisory board will offer a new and independent perspective. It is time for the company to move beyond, to let the merger take it to the next level."