Nortel Wednesday said it has fired its president and CEO, replacing Frank Dunn with William Owens, and has also delayed the release of its financial results for the first quarter of the year.

Nortel has been involved in an ongoing independent review of the circumstances leading to the reissuing of its financial statements for 2000, 2001 and 2002 and for the first and second quarters of 2003, the company said in a statement. As a result of those investigations, Dunn was "terminated for cause," Nortel said.

Former CEO, Douglas Beatty, and former controller, Michael Gollogly, also been terminated for cause, Nortel said.

"Yesterday was a very long day for the board and its advisors," said Lynton (Red) Wilson, chairman of the board in a telephone conference call with media and analysts. "These actions are an important step in the process of restoring confidence in the company's leadership and financial reporting."

The telecommunications equipment maker is currently the subject of investigations by both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and by Canada's top securities regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission.

"We are cooperating with all of the regulation authorities and we will continue to do so," Wilson said. "This is about the accountability for financial reporting. The investigations are ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further."

In March, Nortel placed its CFO and its controller on paid leaves of absence due to questions over the company's 2003 financial results. At the time, the company appointed William Kerr as CFO and MaryAnne Pahapill as controller on an interim basis. On Wednesday Nortel made those appointments permanent.

Owens, who has been serving as a director on Nortel's board since February 2002, was until this appointment, the chairman and CEO of the satellite communications company Teledesic LLC.

With the company since August 1999, Owens had been Teledesic's CEO since June 2003. Owens' resume also includes stints as the president, chief operating officer and vice chairman of Science Applications International Corp., as well as a military career that included serving as vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and as the Commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet during Operation Desert Storm. Owens "brings very strong leadership qualities to bring the company forward," Wilson said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.